France: Balancing Respectability and Radicalization in a Pandemic

France has been home to high case and death totals throughout the pandemic. Accordingly, considerable political attention has been given to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. This chapter focuses specifically on the pandemic response of the populist radical right Rassemblement National (RN). It argues that while the crisis did not present a particularly favorable opportunity for the party, Le Pen and the RN sought to make the most of a bad crisis. The RN launched a techno-populist critique of Emmanuel Macron and governing elites while shying away from outright conspiracies, pandemic denial, or avoidance. Additionally, the party connected the pandemic to grievances that it has cited since its inception. The chapter explains these behaviors by relating them to long-term strategies of Marine Le Pen and incentives present in the French electoral system.