The silly season appears to have come early for two right-wing celebrities, Britain’s Nigel Farage and the French politician Marine Le Pen. Both could take power in their respective countries, Le Pen as early as April next year, yet both have been mired in financial misconduct accusations. Farage is being investigated after having accepted a £5mn ‘gift’ from a donor (whose business model is sensitive to government policy) but not declared it, while Le Pen has said she will run for the job even with an electronic ankle tag.
Farage, who is now an MP (he was not when the ‘gift’ was accepted), was facing a ruling against him by the House of Commons standards committee, which would have led to a suspension from parliament, so he went on the offensive by delivering a televised address to say that he was standing down in order to trigger a byelection in his Clacton-on-Sea constituency, which he will contest. With a serious face, he claimed that the ‘establishment’ was trying to destroy his career, pitching the byelection in the seaside town as an ‘us versus them’ contest.
All the other main British political parties refused to take the bait. Unanimous in their dismissal of this byelection as a Farage stunt, they are not fielding candidates, leaving the leader of Reform UK to fight for his seat against a man who dresses as a dustbin and who goes by the aristocratic name of Count Binface. The British chancellor Rachel Reeves rather pithily described Farage’s summer plans as arguing with a trash can.
Protracted struggle
Across the channel, Le Pen was recently found guilty of involvement in the embezzling of more than $4mn of EU money, siphoning it off to pay the salaries of her party’s staff. After a protracted struggle ending in failure to clear her name, Le Pen’s plan to campaign for the highest office in France while wearing a tracking device on her ankle is another level of farce. Still, the prize is not insignificant. The constitution of the Fifth Republic gives any president immense power.
If the ankle tag becomes a reality, then for a year the Rassemblement National (RN) leader will be under house arrest. It will be up to a magistrate to decide whether she can attend a campaign rally or even go to the shops. Owing to the complexity of the legal process ahead, it is still unclear whether the restriction will be imposed. If it is, some think she could argue that French democracy is at stake and that civil unrest could follow if her campaigning is restricted.
For years, the Front National (the RN’s precursor) campaigned under the slogan ‘Mains Propres et Tête Haute’ (Clean Hands and Heads Held High’). It presented itself as the only party of political integrity. Before the charges were lodged, Le Pen declared on television that “everyone has been dipping into the public purse except the National Front”. The comments were highlighted by political opponents when it became clear that money had been embezzled.
In 2013, Le Pen asked: “When are we going to introduce lifetime ineligibility for all those convicted of offences committed in connection with their public office?” Having now been convicted, her strategy is similar to Farage’s: go on the offensive. Not legally prevented from running for office, Le Pen & Co. nevertheless cry foul, accusing the judiciary of bias and of denying democracy.
Never felt so divided
This is a turbulent time for French politics. President Emmanuel Macron has been severely weakened ever since his decision in 2024 to dissolve the National Assembly. For years his ruling coalition had struggled to legislate in what was a hung parliament. The election test the French people’s loyalties. His reward was another hung parliament. While the vote favoured the left, it also showed huge support for Le Pen. In response, Macron appointed several centrist prime ministers, but they were unable to carry legislation through.
Analysts observe that France “has never felt so divided”. Polls show most French people think the nation is in decline, with former right-leaning president Nicolas Sarkozy sent to prison in October last year for funding an election campaign with money from Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The right-wing news channel CNews (the French equivalent of Fox News) portrayed him as a martyr.
