politics
March 25, 2026
Could the continent’s far right be suffering from a Trumplash?
France’s National Rally missed key targets in local elections ahead of next year’s seismic presidential vote – and the mainstream is doing OK elsewhere, too
TL;DR
- France's National Rally (RN) saw mixed results in local elections, increasing its control of smaller towns but failing to capture major cities.
- The RN's successes were often achieved through alliances or in conservative strongholds, while moderate and left-leaning voters united to block them in other areas.
- Across Europe, other far-right leaders, including Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Hungary's Viktor Orbán, have faced recent electoral challenges.
- In Denmark, the Social Democrats, despite poor results, remained the largest party, and the far-right Danish People's Party saw improvement but remained below previous support levels.
- The traditional centre-left and centre-right parties in France need to form alliances and present unified candidates to effectively challenge the RN in the upcoming presidential election.
Continue reading the original article