PARIS (Azat TV) – Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen officially kicked off her fourth presidential campaign in France, framing her platform around a contentious pledge to grant French citizens “national priority” in welfare, housing, and government jobs, AOL reported. Speaking to supporters in her political stronghold of Hénin-Beaumont, the 58-year-old politician outlined her nationalist program as an act of basic justice, asserting that French nationals should enjoy superior rights over foreigners within the country.
Le Pen’s campaign launch follows an appeals court ruling in July that reduced a previous conviction for embezzling European Parliament funds, shortening a public office ban and clearing her path to run to succeed term-limited President Emmanuel Macron in the May 2027 election. Riding high in early opinion polls as a front-runner in the first round of voting, Le Pen expanded her policy platform at a subsequent gathering in Orléans by targeting environmental restrictions, Newsday reported.
Energy Rollbacks And The Hulot Law
In her Orléans address, Le Pen vowed to abolish a 2017 environmental statute known as the Hulot law, which banned the issuing of new hydrocarbon exploration permits and prohibited shale gas extraction in favor of renewable energy development. Condemning the legislation as “the stupid Hulot law,” Le Pen promised to permit oil prospecting on French territory once again, drawing comparisons to fossil fuel development policies in the United States. She told supporters that the old political parties were failing, declaring that her movement represents the end of an era and a necessary national rebirth.
Her energy proposals directly challenge France’s climate commitments and signal an aggressive rollback of environmental regulations if she secures the presidency. However, the economic and nationalist promises face immediate legal and constitutional hurdles. Critics have repeatedly attacked the “national priority” proposal as unconstitutional and discriminatory against non-citizens, noting that similar regional party platforms have already triggered legal proceedings for inciting discrimination against foreigners.
Legal Scrutiny And Campaign Controversies
Despite her initial momentum in opinion polls, Le Pen’s presidential bid has been shadowed by compounding controversies and legal battles. While the appeals court ruling lifted her electoral ban and allowed her to enter the race, her underlying conviction for misusing EU funds between 2004 and 2016 remains an unresolved liability as she appeals to the nation’s highest court.
Additionally, the campaign faced severe turbulence when investigative website Mediapart published allegations accusing Jordan Bardella, the 31-year-old National Rally president whom Le Pen has designated as her prime minister in the event of victory, of making antisemitic remarks more than a decade ago. ClickOrlando reported that Bardella and the party closed ranks to vigorously deny authorship of the online comments concerning Jewish banking conspiracies, which dated back to his teenage years in the party’s predecessor organization, the National Front.
Political Stakes And The Path To 2027
The 2027 presidential election marks a critical juncture for France as Le Pen attempts to normalize her party’s hard-right platform, distance herself from the legacy of her late father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and capture executive power. With her nearest rival currently identified as centre-right Horizons leader Édouard Philippe, the campaign is set to intensify around fundamental questions of national identity, constitutional rights, economic sovereignty, and environmental policy.