Le Pen in Hénin

Back in her political stronghold in northern France, Marine Le Pen is delivering her first major campaign speech this Sunday.

The far-right candidate for 2027 is relaunching her presidential election campaign in Hénin-Beaumont, following a gathering of her party's MPs in Le Touquet (Pas-de-Calais) on Saturday.

Le Pen is leading in the polls, with 34% of voters signalling their intention to vote for her in the first round, regardless of the scenario, according to a survey carried out on 8 and 9 September by OpinionWay for Les Échos.

Despite this, recent weeks have been marked by a series of mishaps, amid alleged tension with the president of the National Rally (RN) party, Jordan Bardella, controversy over aid to Ukraine and the release of a video in which a police officer, a volunteer member of the RN's security team, makes racist, sexist and conspiracy-theory-based remarks.

Meanwhile, Le Pen has still not reacted to the signing of an immigration pact between Bardella and Nigel Farage, the leader of the UK's hard-right, anti-immigration Reform UK party, which provides for migrants intercepted in British waters to be sent back to France if the two parties come to power.

Rumours are multiplying about alleged tensions between Le Pen and Bardella, the candidate for the post of prime minister.

According to the French daily Libération, the president of the National Rally is said to have declared "it's her or me" on 31 August, while Le Pen is reported to have announced her intention to give a greater role in the campaign to her niece, Marion Maréchal, starting with a speech at the RN's parliamentary gathering in Le Touquet.

During the 2022 presidential campaign, Maréchal backed Éric Zemmour, the leader of the rival far-right party Reconquête, rather than her aunt.

Bardella has denied any tensions, telling the French broadcaster BFM-TV: "Everything is going very, very well, I assure you. I support her 2,000%."

He added that he had an "unbreakable political and personal affinity" with Le Pen while also denying that he wanted to "impose" his line on the party.

The fundamental differences between the two leading figures of the National Rally are mainly about economic policy, especially pensions.

According to Bardella, the current French pension system "is not economically sustainable."

He also seems hesitant to have his "boss" turn her proposed ban on the wearing of the veil in public spaces into a central campaign issue.

On 31 August, he insisted that the aim was not "to impose a dress code," stressing that a referendum on the issue would be held.

The president of the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament also appears more pro-market than Le Pen, who has traditionally been more supportive of protectionist measures.

Beyond this, the RN is also facing disagreements over international issues.

Appearing on BFM-TV on 4 September, Louis Aliot, the party's vice-president and mayor of Perpignan, was asked about aid to Ukraine.

"We turn off the tap. The health system, the education system, the whole economy, everything has been cut to the bone, and yet we still find money to fund more weapons (...) I'm willing to accept that, but who pays for all this? You also have to know how to stop a war," he said.

His comments quickly sparked a debate.

On X, Édouard Philippe, the centre-right Horizons party's candidate for 2027, seized the opportunity to accuse the RN of "its support for Putin's regime," arguing that "turning off the tap for Ukraine means serving Russia."

"Weakening Ukraine, as Marine Le Pen wants, means threatening the security of Europe and France. I will do everything to stop her," he added.

Le Pen hit back within the hour, reminding the former prime minister that he was in office when the Russian president was "received with great pomp at the Palace of Versailles and then at the Fort of Brégançon," and that he himself had welcomed Dmitry Medvedev, then Russian prime minister, to his home city of Le Havre in June 2019.

National Rally grapples with police scandal

On 8 September, French regional daily Midi Libre released a video from November 2025 showing several municipal police officers in Carcassonne making racist, sexist and conspiracy-related comments during a nighttime patrol.

The patrol leader, responsible for nearly 90% of the remarks made that evening, is a former paratrooper, but he had also volunteered for the RN's internal security service.

He notably escorted Bardella on several trips, including during the promotional tour for his book, as well as at the launch of the RN's municipal election campaign.

The officer in question was expelled from the National Rally on Wednesday. Bardella, for his part, has described his comments as "despicable."

The Carcassonne public prosecutor's office also announced on Wednesday the suspension of the four municipal police officers who appear in the video.