French far-right RN set to join Orbán’s ‘Patriots for Europe’

The French far-right party Rassemblement national (RN) is set to join the “Patriots for Europe” group formed in the European Parliament by Viktor Orbán and his allies, several sources within the party and Italy’s Lega confirmed to Euractiv on Sunday (July 7).

Following the announcement of the legislative elections results, which saw RN get 143 MPs in the National Assembly, the party’s President, Jordan Bardella, declared that “in the European Parliament, [the RN] MEPs will, from tomorrow, play their full role within a large group.”

A member of the European team of the Italian party La Lega, an ally of the RN in the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the European Parliament, told Euractiv on condition of anonymity that Bardella was clear about his intention.

“The RN is going to join the ‘Patriots for Europe’ group. [Jordan] Bardella said so himself”, the source added.

The sovereignist Patriots for Europe group was launched by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš on 30 June.

Since the launch, eight movements have already joined the group, including Spain’s Vox, which has left the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

If the RN and La Lega were to follow suit, the “Patriots for Europe” could overtake the ECR and become the third largest group in the European Parliament.

For now, the RN is not giving many details on the potential developments.

An RN MEP told Euractiv on 4 July, “Our current priority is the second round of the legislative elections. I won’t say anything [about the group in the European Parliament] until Monday [July 8]”.

A few days earlier (June 27), the same EU lawmaker confided that it was “not impossible” that the RN would join the “Patriots for Europe”, but “I can’t tell you any more…”.

Meetings scheduled for Monday

Moreover, an RN source in the European Parliament told Euractiv that the far-right movement’s newly elected Strasbourg members are travelling to Brussels on Monday (8 July) for a delegation meeting scheduled for early afternoon, followed by a meeting with ID members.

The meeting will likely be decisive for the group’s future should the RN and La Lega decide to leave, the same source said, adding the RN will certainly join the new group.

Without giving further details, another RN MEP also said on Sunday that “the idea would be to have a large group of sovereignist parties”, which is exactly the ambition pushed forward by Viktor Orbán and his allies.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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