A Stagecraft Launch in Orléans

Just before half past four, Marine Le Pen took to the stage under strobe lights at the Zénith Arena in Orléans, at a rally whose theme was announced as Renaissance. The event was sandwiched between Swan Lake and Vanessa Paradis in the arena's schedule. Le Pen has topped the popularity polls for months in France, and analysts describe her as being on the doorstep of the presidency.

Renaissance, 'Not Nostalgia'

The theme was Renaissance, and notably not nostalgia or a turning back of the clock to the past, Le Pen told the crowd. Her pitch paired a hard message with a promise of renewal:

• •A platform for law and order she claimed was absent under Macron.
• •A vision of what she called a National Community.

Protests Outside, Tension Inside

The rally came amid months of convulsions across the country, student protests and accusations of poisoning politics from the radical right and left. Twenty-four hours earlier, over ten thousand anti-Le Pen demonstrators had gathered outside the venue as part of nationwide protests. Inside, four journalists from the investigative team Mediapart were ejected; they were allowed back later.

The Bardella Case Shadows the Campaign

The ejection of the Mediapart reporters came against the backdrop of the outlet's publication of private Facebook messages allegedly written by a teenage Jordan Bardella containing highly antisemitic language. He has sued for defamation and described it as a political attack designed to damage the credibility of the National Rally. The Orléans rally came 24 hours after the latest protests across the country, with Le Pen, per analysts, standing on the doorstep of the presidency as the campaign continues.