From the FN to the RN: The Reasons Behind Its Success. Anatomy of a Controversial Political Party

As part of the CESAER Social Sciences Seminar, we will welcome Patrick Lehingue and Bernard Pudal for a presentation and discussion of their book: From the FN to the RN: The Reasons Behind Its Success. Anatomy of a Controversial Political Party The electoral success of the Rassemblement National (RN) is now undeniable. But how can we explain how a political party with a relatively weak social base has achieved such electoral growth and established itself as a lasting force in the French political landscape? To understand this trajectory, Patrick Lehingue and Bernard Pudal examine long-term structural transformations and processes: the dismantling of the welfare state, changes in the education system, the declining status of traditional intellectual figures – scientists, schoolteachers and trade unionists – and the growing influence of nativist ideas. Their book thus provides a historical and sociological overview of the evolution of the Front National (FN) into the Rassemblement National (RN), while seeking to shed light on the factors behind its electoral success since the 1980s.