The far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party could have done without yet another blunder concerning dual nationals. While party leader Jordan Bardella portrayed himself as the representative of a "true republican front" in the newspaper Le Figaro on Tuesday, July 2, loyal readers of the regional paper L'Yonne républicaine discovered a completely different tone. The Burgundy newspaper had published the transcript of a debate pitting RN incumbent MP Daniel Grenon, who came out on top in the first round of the legislative elections with 40.4% of the vote, against Florence Loury, a Green candidate for the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire (NFP) alliance. The two candidates are set to face off against each other in a duel for the Yonne department's 1st constituency, in the second round on Sunday, July 7. The debate had been held at the newspaper's headquarters in the city of Auxerre the day before.
According to the newspaper founded just after France's liberation from Nazi rule, Grenon defended Bardella's promise to ban French people with dual nationality from holding strategic government positions. But he went further: "Some North Africans came to power in 2016, these people have no place in high places." The blatantly racist and discriminatory remark sparked instant backlash. "No one will be able to say they didn't know," Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti warned in a post on X.
This infringement of the principles of the French Republic came just a few days after RN candidate Roger Chudeau thrust the measure, which far-right leader Marine Le Pen's party had been trying not to mention openly, back into the spotlight. On Thursday, June 27, the former education inspector had asserted on the news channel BFM-TV that members of the government could not be dual nationals, targeting former education minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem – who is French-Moroccan. "Ministerial positions must be held by Franco-French people, period" he asserted, alleging "a problem of dual loyalty."
Suspicion of 'dual allegiance'
The comment drew strong condemnation, including from Vallaud-Belkacem herself, who denounced the "absolutely unbearable" remarks, which sent "a simple message to all our compatriots of foreign origin, which is that they cannot be trusted." She pushed Le Pen to rein in Chudeau, going so far as to suggest that he should be referred to the far-right party's conflicts committee. Chudeau came out on top in the first round in his constituency on Sunday, obtaining 49.7% of the vote. That same evening, in the northern French town of Hénin-Beaumont, when asked about her measure targeting dual nationals, Le Pen nonetheless insisted to Le Monde: "There's no question of withdrawing a promise because it causes controversy."
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