The far right may rule France because of the positions of the far left policy

With the French presidential elections approaching next year, experts explain that the “Republican Front” that used to ensure political balance in the country has disappeared, and the political forces in France have become more divided.

In light of a tense political situation, it is expected that the far right – represented by the National Rally Party – will continue to expand its influence while the left is trying to unify its ranks, at a time when the French Republic appears to be at a crossroads.

If the traditional left has succeeded – over the past decades before it collapsed – in cooperating with the movements described as moderate to ensure a less polarized political scene, then the “France Proud” party – which is from the far left – has now formed with the “National Rally” – from the far right – two sides of the unity coin, the headline of which is the sharp polarization that heralds political tremors that France may witness.

“Health barrier”

Professor of History at the Honors College at the University of Houston, Robert Zaretsky, confirmed that France has witnessed in recent years a sharp decline in dealing with one of its highest political principles, which is the principle known as the “sanitary barrier,” which used to constitute a protective wall against the control of power by far-right parties.

Zaretsky stated – in an article in the American magazine Foreign Policy – that this concept was born in 1987 when a group – of 122 political figures from the French left – published a letter calling for the formation of a “Republican Dam”, to confront the rise of the “National Front” party, which is described as anti-immigration and anti-Semitic.

The party’s name was changed from the “National Front” to the “National Rally” in March 2018, in an attempt to get rid of the party’s past accused of being linked to racism and anti-Semitism, and also to facilitate alliances with other parties.

The concept of the political “health barrier” was born in 1987 when a group of 122 political figures from the French left published a letter calling for the formation of a “republican dam” to confront the rise of the “National Front” party.

The poison of extremism

Zaretsky added that this call continued for several decades, as this resistance was supported by both the left and the right, and it represented an embodiment of that constant warning against extremism, as did former President Jacques Chirac, who considered extremism “poison.”

But the situation today is completely different, as the writer explains, adding that the forces that brought together the middle political spectrum to form a “health barrier” have disappeared, and have been replaced by centrifugal forces that lead to political disintegration.

He stated that the last municipal elections in 2026 revealed the increasing divisions in the French political arena, as the Republican health barrier has become very fragile, as a result of the extremism that controls the political parties.

Zaretsky said that the problem began in the summer of 2024, when President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the National Assembly and called for surprise elections to strengthen his government’s majority, but the results were disastrous.

The decline of traditional trends

Major political coalitions – including the one led by Macron’s party – lost their parliamentary majority.

In those elections, three main political blocs were formed: the far right represented by the National Rally, the center right led by Macron, and the radical left, which includes the Proud France party and other parties.

Despite these divisions, none of these blocs was able to form a clear parliamentary majority.

According to Zaretsky, the political crisis has worsened with the escalation of polarization between the left and right parties. The “Proud France” party – led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon – tried to be part of the traditional left, but it is currently described as hostile to the republic because of what is said about its tendencies towards sectarianism and its obstruction of parliamentary work.

The irony is that Mélenchon – who has long presented himself as the most consistent opponent of the far right – will instead be remembered as the one responsible for bringing the National Rally party to power.

He said that what made the matter more complicated and heightened the intensity of polarization was the killing of far-right activist Quentin Deranque, at the hands of a group of radical leftists in the city of Lyon.

This incident – continues Zaretsky – revealed the increasing level of violence between the right and the left, and caused a widening of the rift between the French political movements.

But the writer stresses that the right is responsible for several acts of violence in the country, and he quoted researchers Nicolas Lebourg and Xavier Cretier as confirming – in recent research – that far-right movements are responsible for violent incidents ten times more than those behind them by leftists, during the past forty years.

That is, the police attributed 58 murders to the far right, compared to six to the far left, the article explains.

The far right is responsible for ten times more violence in the country than the far left

Regarding the next presidential elections in 2027, Mélenchon believes that he is able to compete against National Rally candidates such as Marine Le Pen if she wins her legal battle, or Jordan Bardella, the party’s current president.

Because of his positions, which are described as radical, and his many missteps during political speeches; The irony is that Mélenchon – who has always presented himself as the most steadfast opponent of the far right – will instead be remembered as the most reckless opponent, responsible for the burial of the “Republican Front” and the rise of the National Rally Party to power, explains the American writer.