Why do women vote for the National Rally?

“Tomorrow I will be Prime Minister and I will firmly guarantee every girl and every woman in France their rights and freedoms “. Alalala, what great promises from Jordan Bardella. The president of the National Rally wanted to address women in a video published on X on June 17. And contrary to what one might think, more and more women are voting for the RN… even if it may seem contradictory. At the dawn of the legislative elections, which will be held on 30 June and 7 July, women’s rights have become omnipresent in this express campaign.

RN is increasingly attracting women

On June 9, the President of the Republic decided to dissolve the National Assembly, while the National Rally, a far-right party, emerged as the big winner of the European elections. Despite an abstention rate of 48.51%, more than 7 million French people voted for Jordan Bardella’s party. Among all these people, women. However, for many years, women have been more reluctant to give their vote to far-right parties as they have always been more likely to receive social assistance, which is why their votes often ended up on the left.

But what we can see is that since 2012, when the alignment of female and male voting behavior was studied, the RN managed to find a place in the political hearts of French women. Between the 2019 and 2024 European elections, the party led by Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen gained 10 points in the female electorate (according to an IPSOS poll). Another poll (IFOP) even indicates that French women voted for the RN with 32%, ahead of men (31% of votes).

However, ideas have not changed

However, the ideas of this party have remained more or less the same: racist, xenophobic, misogynist… and so on, but what has changed is when Marine Le Pen came to the helm of the National Front, at the time, in 2011. During these various campaigns, she continued to present herself as a free woman, divorced mother and ESPECIALLY those who love animals. She highlighted her side of the average woman: a profile that corresponds to that of hundreds of thousands of women in France.

Another thing that works well with RN voters is “the Bardella effect” and presumably his ideal son-in-law. At the helm of the party since 2021, he has been able to attract younger people but obviously women. Well, this may seem superficial, but today many French people only vote for a person or a political figure, rather than for a program and ideas. Appearance, the story surrounding the character, has always had an important place in electoral campaignsif by repercussion on the voting choice of the French

Everyone knows, the strong point of the far right is security (and obviously immigration)

A point that is of particular interest to women. Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Women’s Foundation, met with RN voter Anne to try to understand the why and how. At the microphone of France Inter you declared: “According to her (Anne), it is the protective mirage offered from the far right that leads women to be conservative. In exchange they conform to traditional, secondary and alienating roles, but prefer the violence that is familiar to them to the risk of that which is foreign. »

And yes, even if Jordan Bardella had assured on June 17 that women's rights would be defended if the RN had obtained a parliamentary majority, this is actually a facade feminism. Although he mentioned violence, the right to dispose of one's own body and insecurity, the party leader forgot to say 2-3 things that contradict all these promises.

All these times the RN voted against women

This support from women is troubling, especially when we know the extent to which the Navy can be destructive to women's (and minority) rights. Last May, Feminist Strike also warned of the harmful power of RN. The collective denounced in an article published on Publication “the exploitation of women's rights by the National Rally for electoral purposes”remembering “That in the European Parliament the far-right party systematically abstains or votes against any feminist advance.” The proof is this (non-exhaustive) list of measures opposed by RN MEPs and MEPs.

In 2018, most RN deputies were absent during the vote on a law against sexual and gender-based violence, in 2022, 35 RN deputies voted against a bill aimed at increasing women's access to positions of responsibility in the public service. More recently, due to the entry of abortion into the Constitution, the RN was the group most against the text with 12 votes against, 14 abstentions and 16 deputies who did not participate.

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