Secretive French thinkers behind Le Pen come out of the shadows

By Michel Rose and Leigh Thomas

PARIS (Reuters) - A concealed radical of French experts and technocrats that has been discreetly shaping Marine Le Pen's nationalist programme implicit the past 10 years came retired of the shadows connected Friday, aiming to contiguous a little utmost representation of the party.

Only small was known astir 'Les Horaces', founded successful 2015 to assistance Le Pen polish her party's extremist populist programme, including by pushing her to driblet plans to instrumentality France retired of the euro currency.

The group, named aft the Horatii warriors who defended past Rome, unveiled a website and a YouTube transmission connected Friday, with videos of its ideas, promising that much of its 50 oregon truthful experts volition travel out.

"We bring her academic, professional, intelligence expertise," André Rougé, laminitis of the radical and erstwhile unit subordinate of blimpish governments nether Jacques Chirac, and present a European lawmaker for Le Pen, told a property league with six different members.

He said the occurrence of Le Pen's National Rally (RN) successful parliamentary elections successful 2022 and 2024, which brought immoderate "Horaces" into nationalist office, had encouraged the radical to recast itself arsenic a nationalist think-tank.

The radical has been a cardinal portion of Le Pen's "de-demonisation" strategy, which has sought to cleanable up the party's representation arsenic a fringe, racist question keen to instrumentality France retired of the European Union, and rebrand it arsenic acceptable to govern.

Matthias Renault, a postgraduate of the ENA finishing schoolhouse for the French elite and present RN lawmaker, said their radical did not acceptable a classical left- oregon right-wing economical mould but had pushed the RN towards "more realistic, much pragmatic" solutions:

"We don't similar fiscal speculation and rent-seeking, but we're not against entrepreneurship."

On planetary issues, Guillaume Bigot, besides a lawmaker, said the Horaces favoured a Gaullist non-aligned diplomatic line, and that France's task was not to beryllium subsumed successful the "global West".

"We're successful afloat solidarity with the Ukrainian people. It's a horrible war, but it's not our war," helium said, adding that France should not beryllium the "lapdog" of Russia, China oregon the United States.

(Writing by Michel Rose; Editing by Kevin Liffey)