No, the National Rally is not 'far right'

The commentariat should be honest enough to admit that the party has changed

Photo: flickr.com / Blandine Le Cain

It is very easy these days to join the ranks of the far right. It’s not like the old days, when to prove your credentials it was necessary to shave your head, don a bomber jacket and Doc Martens, and ‘Sieg Heil!’ your way around towns with large ethnic minority communities.  

The entry requirements are much more relaxed in 2024. All you need do today is adopt a position on a certain topic contrary to that held by the forces of radical progressivism and – bingo! – you’re in. So if, for example, you believe that biological sex is immutable, or you support strong border controls, or you defend the concept of the nuclear family, or you voted for Brexit, or you curl your lip at the Pride flag and the moral hectoring that invariably accompanies it, there is every chance you’ll quickly find yourself labelled as some sort of neo-fascist.

In fact, so ubiquitous has the term ‘far-right’ become in political discourse – particularly across social media – and so removed from its etymological roots, that it has, to all intents and purposes, been rendered meaningless – such that one could be forgiven for paying absolutely no attention whenever one hears it deployed in argument against someone or something.

Which brings me to the National Rally (RN) of France.