Le Pen in Hénin-Beaumont stronghold for damage control

Marine Le Pen returns to Hénin-Beaumont as campaign questions mount

Poinews.com – Marine Le Pen is set to make her first campaign speech on Sunday in Hénin-Beaumont, the northern French town that has long been a political base for her movement. The appearance comes after National Rally lawmakers gathered on Saturday in nearby Le Touquet, in the Pas-de-Calais department, as the party seeks to steady its message ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Le Pen remains the leading contender in first-round polling scenarios. A survey conducted on 8 and 9 September put her at 34% of voting intentions in each scenario examined. But the start of the political season has also brought a sequence of controversies involving the National Rally, renewed attention on its stance toward Ukraine and persistent talk of strains at the top of the party.

Questions over Le Pen and Bardella

Jordan Bardella, the National Rally president and its prospective candidate for prime minister, has repeatedly dismissed suggestions of a power struggle with Le Pen. The speculation intensified after claims that he had said “It’s her or me” on 31 August, while Le Pen was said to be preparing a larger campaign role for her niece, Marion Maréchal.

Maréchal was expected to return prominently to the party’s parliamentary gathering in Le Touquet. Her possible role is politically notable because she supported Éric Zemmour, leader of the rival far-right party Reconquête, during the 2022 presidential race rather than backing her aunt.

Bardella has sought to project unity. During a visit to the Ambrosetti Forum near Milan, the annual economics and geopolitics gathering, he told BFM-TV that his relationship with Le Pen remained exceptionally close.

“Everything is going very, very well, I assure you. I support her 2,000%.”

He also described their political and personal relationship as “unbreakable” and rejected the idea that he was trying to force his own political direction onto the party.

Even so, differences in emphasis are visible. Pension policy is one important dividing line. Bardella has argued that France’s existing pension model cannot be sustained economically, while Le Pen has generally placed greater weight on protectionist policies than the more market-friendly approach associated with Bardella.

The two figures have also appeared to approach cultural issues differently. Le Pen has proposed banning headscarves in public, while Bardella has shown less enthusiasm for placing the measure at the centre of the presidential campaign. On 31 August, he said the purpose was not to create a dress code and indicated that a referendum would be held on the matter.

Immigration agreement remains unanswered

Le Pen has not publicly responded to an immigration agreement signed by Bardella and Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK. The arrangement envisages migrants intercepted in British waters being returned to France if the two parties gain power in their respective countries.

The proposal has added another sensitive issue to the National Rally’s campaign preparations. Immigration remains central to the party’s political identity, but the pact also raises practical and diplomatic questions because it links French policy to a potential future British government.

Ukraine dispute fuels wider criticism

Foreign policy has become another source of pressure. On 4 September, Louis Aliot, the National Rally vice-president and mayor of Perpignan, was questioned on BFM-TV about support for Ukraine. He argued that France should reconsider spending on weapons aid while domestic public services and the wider economy faced financial pressure.

“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.”

His intervention immediately sharpened the debate over the National Rally’s position on Russia’s war against Ukraine. Édouard Philippe, the Horizons candidate for 2027, accused the party of supporting Vladimir Putin’s regime and said ending aid to Ukraine would benefit Russia.

“Turning off the tap for Ukraine means serving Russia.”

Philippe added that weakening Ukraine, in his view, would endanger both European and French security, and said he would work to prevent Le Pen from winning.

Le Pen responded quickly, pointing to Philippe’s record while he served as Emmanuel Macron’s prime minister. She noted that Putin had been welcomed at the Palace of Versailles and later at the Fort of Brégançon during that period. She also referred to Philippe hosting Dmitry Medvedev, then Russia’s prime minister, in Le Havre in June 2019.

Police video creates a further challenge

A separate controversy emerged on 8 September after the release of a video recorded in November 2025 during a night patrol by municipal police officers in Carcassonne. The footage showed several officers making racist, sexist and conspiratorial comments.

The patrol leader was responsible for almost 90% of the hateful remarks heard that evening. A former paratrooper, he had also volunteered for the National Rally’s internal security service and had acted as an escort for Bardella.

The episode risks complicating Le Pen’s effort to place discipline and governmental credibility at the forefront of her campaign. Her visit to Hénin-Beaumont therefore carries significance beyond a routine local speech: it offers an opportunity to reassert control over a party confronting ideological differences, uncomfortable associations and scrutiny of its international positions.