LA TRINITE-SUR-MER, France (Reuters) - Florent de Kersauson, a French far-right parliamentary candidate, was leafleting in Brittany when his deputy called to say reporters had found an old, antisemitic tweet by a fellow National Rally (RN) contender in a neighbouring constituency. De Kersauson, one of 27 candidates hoping to win the RN's first seat in the historically left-leaning region, was furious, mindful of the damage Joseph Martin's comments could cause his party's pursuit of power. "What was this idiot doing saying bullshit like that?" de Kersauson said of Martin's tweet.
For decades, the National Rally's reputation for antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism made it a non-starter for millions of French voters, but Marine Le Pen's efforts to detoxify the party her father established in the 1970s under the National Front banner has broadened its appeal. Opinion polls show the RN winning the two-round parliamentary election on June 30 and July 7, but without an absolute majority. That would likely force centrist, europhile President Emmanuel Macron to share power with an anti-immigrant, eurosceptic government.
Voter anger at the cost of living and towards Macron has made the prospect of the RN winning seats for the first time in Brittany appear possible. The RN's rise in Morbihan, a Breton district of Neolithic stone circles popular with tourists, mirrors a national trajectory. In the 2022 parliamentary election, Macron's candidates won five of its six constituencies.
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