Version imprimableAs expected, the RN and some of the most extreme right wing forces cried scandal and conspiracy, and their voices were amplified by the reactionary international of Orban, Trump and Musk. Unsurprisingly, the rest of the political spectrum has been content with muttered statements or has remained silent. As for Melenchon’s La France Insoumise, it echoed the anti-judge and populist rhetoric of its worst enemies.
“Clean hands and heads held high”?
Bourgeois justice and the law it is supposed to apply are very much open to criticism. Judges getting involved in the political struggle and class conflict is an unwelcome phenomenon. However, just like the multiple Sarkozy cases, the case that has led to Marine Le Pen’s conviction stands out and it is damning, especially for the heiress of a party that claimed to have “clean hands and heads held high” and a few years ago was demanding a lifetime ban for standing for public office for convicted politicians. Justice must be served, regardless of who is on trial. It is up to the political world to deal with it! By taking such a decision, far from calling into question the “separation of powers”, the judiciary has reminded the political class of its own corruption. Some of the principles and mechanisms of bourgeois democracy are taken for granted. When these apply for once to the most powerful, it is inappropriate to complain about them.
The far right is still a threat
However, the possible barring of Marine Le Pen only slightly calls into question the ability of the far right to take power in the short term. It could even accelerate the process if the RN succeeds in presenting itself as the victim. There is a strong tendency towards fascism with deep social roots which have little to do with the probity of the RN.
Jordan Bardella could emerge victorious in an upcoming election if he manages to unite the purely bourgeois far right resulting from Sarkozyism and then Fillonism, today embodied by Reconquête and the last remnants of LR, with the plebeian far right that Marine Le Pen seeks to embody. This old project is also led by Marion Maréchal, which is a divisive factor… but also an alternative. Finally, the extreme liberal centre, embodied by Macronism, also in constant radicalization, could implement a far-right policy in a form more controllable by the bourgeoisie, i.e. a mainstream, technocratic, pro-European illiberalism inspired by the libertarian experiment underway in Argentina and especially in the United States.
Unity and radicalism against the far right
This is why only our struggles, on all fronts, can avoid catastrophe. Because if the legal system seeks to influence the political game, politics remains sovereign and decisive. Preventing the far right from crushing us with its iron heel calls for the unity and radicalism of our side of the class struggle in the streets, in the workplaces and in the colleges, as well as at the ballot box.
1 April 2025 2025
Translated by Liam McQuade from l’Anticapitaliste.
