France’s far-right National Front party is sending a selection of its members back to school, in a bid to expand its cohort of elected representatives by targeting the 2014 local elections.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right, anti-immigration party, who garnered 18 percent of the vote in last May’s presidential elections, is turning her attention away from the Elysée palace and towards local battlegrounds across the country.
Her secret weapon for the 2014 local elections is the ‘Campus Bleu Marine’, which was unveiled last month at Nanterres, a suburb to the west of Paris.
The controversial leader, who campaigned to cut immigration by 90 percent and increase sovereignty for France, is hoping success at a local level will help boost the party’s influence and credibility in French politics.
In an open letter to party members, Le Pen called Campus Bleu Marine ‘the most important project for the future of the National Front.’
The campus opened its doors for the first “students” at the weekend, with seminars to be held each weekend until the summer. Party chiefs are hoping around 600 potential National Front candidates will have graduated by June.
The syllabus for Campus Bleu Marine touches on every aspect of modern political campaigning. According to the school’s director, Frédéric Gourier, the ‘students’ are learning public relations, communication, media training, campaign finance, legal perspectives, strategy and how to put together a ballot list.
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