How the Le Pen family built and rules the postwar French far right, with political scientist Catherine Fieschi

In conversation with Simon Kuper

How did the Le Pens build and change the French far right? What French historical traditions are they drawing on? Might their party ever win power?

In 1972, Jean-Marie Le Pen founded the far-right Front National party. He led it until 2011, gaining a reputation for Holocaust denial and enmity to Islam. In 2002 he reached the run-off of the French presidential election. His daughter Marine succeeded him as leader; she reached the runoffs in 2017. Jean-Marie was eventually expelled from the party, after refusing to attend his disciplinary hearing for having described the gas chambers as a “detail of history”.

Jean-Marie’s granddaughter, Marion Maréchal, is tipped as the next leader of the party, which is now called Rassemblement National.

Catherine Fieschi is a leading expert on European politics and the French far right. She has followed the Le Pens since her PhD, for which she conducted many hours of interviews with Jean-Marie Le Pen, in the family château outside Paris. Fieschi is the Director of Counterpoint, a London-based research and advisory group that advises businesses, governments and NGOs on social and political risk. She is also a longstanding adviser to European political leaders and campaigns, the author of Populocracy, and a native speaker of French, Italian and English.

Simon Kuper Is a columnist for the Financial Times.