The "real Marine" is behind Le Pen's defeat

According to German standards, the Greens in France are a splinter party. Their leader Marine Tondelier is 37 years old and had not been particularly successful until now. However, the woman from Marine Le Pen's electoral district in Henin-Beaumont cleverly forged the winning left-wing alliance.

"I'm named Marine, but I'm the real Marine from Henin-Beaumont - the one who was here before," said Marine Tondelier at a rally in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil on June 17. And that was essentially all that was said: This Marine had barely known any French people before a few weeks, unlike right-wing populist Marine Le Pen. The leader of National Rally comes originally from Paris. Her electoral district, however, is in Henin-Beaumont. In this impoverished former coal mining region, Le Pen loves to sing miner songs and present herself as close to the people. She grew up in a castle that her Nazi father Jean-Marie Le Pen once received as a gift from a admirer. Marine Tondelier, on the other hand, grew up in Henin-Beaumont - and has now dealt Le Pen a painful defeat.

The 37-year-old is the leader of the French Greens, who call themselves Europe Ecology The Greens. In the European elections, their party barely made it above the five-percent threshold. A setback also for Tondelier, who has led the party since December 2022. In 2019, it still had more than 13 percent. Climate and environmental protection are not exactly at the top of the agenda in the neighboring country. However, when President Emmanuel Macron dissolved parliament in the evening of the European elections, Tondelier reacted swiftly: She called for a "great gathering of progressive forces." And she invited their party leaders to negotiations.

A little tail wagged the dog. The traditional Social Democrats of the Parti Socialiste and the left-populists of La France Insoumise have a greater reach and stronger support at the polls. Nevertheless, the project is successful: Together with the Communists, the four parties form the "New People's Front" (Nouveau Front Populaire) within days. The name goes back to the historical People's Front, which the left-wing parties successfully formed against fascism in the pre-war years.

"The extremists or us"

The Left in France is deeply divided. A fault line in the new left-wing alliance was the question of who would lead it. The founder of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, is seen by his followers as a charismatic leader. He confronts political rivals unyieldingly and scares voters with anti-Semitic remarks as well as his rigid opposition to the EU and NATO. Social Democrats and Greens therefore ruled out Mélenchon as a common candidate.

If their electoral alliance wins, the New People's Front will "find a consensus" to propose a candidate for the position of prime minister. "We are discussing until we find a solution that suits all parties," Tondelier emphasized before the first round of voting on June 30. It is necessary to have a personality who can calm the situation.

Either the Right-wing extremists will win or we, said Tondelier at the presentation of the election program in Paris, always dressed in the same light green blazer. But not the same one: she has two of them. "For the first time since the Vichy Regime, there is a danger that the Right-wing extremists will come to power," said Socialist Chief Olivier Faure, looking back at the French Vichy Regime, which collaborated with Nazi Germany.

Tondelier is familiar with alliances against Marine Le Pen's Party Rassemblement National (RN). In the municipal politics of Hénin-Beaumont, Tondelier also forged and led an alliance with other parties. The RN is overpowering in the Pas-de-Calais. The daughter of a homeopath and a dentist reports from this time about "attempts at intimidation and humiliation" by the political opponent. It was instructive for Tondelier. For Tondelier, it has become a political maxim to prevent Le Pen's grab for power, if necessary with a lot of pragmatism and alliances deep into the conservative camp.

Not Le Pen

Correspondingly, it was easy for the Greens and Social Democrats, in all constituencies without an absolute majority for a candidate, to exclude their third-placed candidates from the race. Thus, voters in the second round should have a promising alternative to the Rassemblement National. Macron's party alliance took the same step. It was much harder for some from La France insoumise and Macron's alliance Renaissance.

So said Bruno Le Maire, a Renaissance member, he would never give a candidate of Melenchon his vote. The left-populist Melenchon has been attacking the Macron government harshly for years. They stand irreconcilably opposed to each other. When Marine Tondelier was asked about Le Maire by the broadcaster France Inter, tears came to her eyes. "That's cowardly and not worthy of the historical significance," she said to the broadcaster.

However, the mood was different on Sunday evening, as Tondelier's Left Front became the strongest force in the second round, while Le Pen's alliance finished only in third place. "Tonight, social justice has won, tonight ecological justice has won, and tonight the people have won. Now things will start moving." The highest voter turnout since 1981 had shown how important the parliamentary election was to the people of France, said Tondelier. "This is a beautiful victory for democracy, it belongs to all of you."

It is possible that Tondelier will belong to a new cabinet. She did not manage to secure a parliamentary seat. The Greens have only won one of the 577 constituencies. Hénin-Beaumont went to Le Pen in the first round with 58% of the votes.

marine tondelier, leading the French Greens, or Europe Ecology The Greens, was disappointed with their performance in the European elections, barely surpassing the five-percent threshold.
During the navy parade in Toulon, Marine Tondelier and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the founder of La France insoumise, showcased their alliance, leading the 'New People's Front' (Nouveau Front Populaire).
Faced with the prospect of Marine Le Pen's National Rally triumphing, Marine Tondelier called for strengthening the green agenda, advocating for the need to prevent the navy from becoming environmentally destructive.
Despite their political differences, Marine Tondelier and Marine Le Pen shared a common love for the sea and the navy, often engaging in debates about its future and environmental impact during their campaigns.