La transformation du front national par les megretistes entre 1986 et 1999

Abstract

This thesis, entitled “La transformation du Front national par les mégrétistes entre 1986 et 1999” is made up of four parts. The first part of the thesis, “La dynamique du Front national et le rapport de force entre les différentes familles avant l’arrivée des mégrétistes” describes the main ideological trends within the FN and the position of the party before the entry of the Megretists. The second part of the thesis, “Les mégrétistes du Club de I'Horloge au Front national”, details and explains the ideas coming from the GRECE and treated within the Club de I'Horloge. It examines the political background and education of Bruno Mégret. It is also shown how the Megretists brought the theme of the national preference in the FN. The third part of the thesis, “La transformation du FN par les mégrétistes”, deals with all the work Mégret carried out during his time at the FN. It studies the changes made to the structures and organisation, and above all to the ideology and strategy of the party. It is shown how the theme of national identity is meant to be the cornerstone of the Megretist thought and how it comes out in the ideas defended in the political programmes. The last part of the thesis, “Les causes de la scission du FN”, explains why Le Pen andMégret violently split in 1998. It is shown that the split has its origin in internal conflicts of interest and strategic divergences and analyses its immediate consequences. A key conclusion, underlined in this thesis, is that the Megretist ideas come from the Nouvelledroite (GRECE and Club de I’Horloge). A related key conclusion is that the FN acquired an even harder or more extremist character under the influence of Mégret’s ideas. What is remindful of some of the fascist movements of the 1930s is the way in which Mégret treated of the theme of identity in order to establish a hard-edged discourse dealing especially with social issues, anti-Americanism, immigration, Europe, ecology and also an economic “third way” based on protectionism. Finally, this thesis tackles the question of the importance of Mégret’s legacy. The question is raised of what role was played by this legacy for the presidential elections in 2002. If it appears that the changes made by the Megretists within the FN contributed to add some electoral credibility to the FN, the extent of this contribution should be qualified, as the great importance of Le Pen’s charisma in the FN vote must be considered.