Thierry Mariani, 65, was designated internally to represent the RN during the first debate of the European elections, this Thursday on Public Senate. Jordan Bardella, party boss and head of the list, refused to go.

Mariani again, and too bad if the Russian-Ukrainian news is in full swing these days. “When I saw that, I thought it was a joke. Given the current atmosphere, it seems incredible to me from a strategic point of view,” says an RN executive.