France’s far fight goes quiet as Paris Games shows what real patriotism is all about | Philippe Auclair

A political faction that thrives on anger and division was unable to revel in a successful Olympics built on shared joy

Something unusual happened to the French far right during these Olympic Games: it went silent. Jordan Bardella, the poster boy of the National Rally (RN) who shared his life between public rallies and TV studios before the Olympic torch rose and lit up the Paris night two weeks ago, has all but vanished. When he is still talked about, it is to wonder where he could have gone. The south of France, perhaps, unless it is the coast of Amalfi, or both.

Marine Le Pen is apparently cuddling her five‑month‑old grandson in Brittany when she’s not tending her cats at her home in the Yvelines, according to the RN-friendly Le Journal du Dimanche, which reassured its readers that nothing was amiss: it is well known that the leaders of the French extreme right have always taken their holidays seriously. They were now “regrouping” after their defeat in the second round of the parliamentary elections. Le Pen’s social media team had posted on her X account a few tweets – six in total – of support and appreciation for the most striking successes of the French Olympic delegation, and that was all.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/7wjvLJf