Order to Dissolve Far-Right and Radical Islamist Groups Ahead of French Elections

The French government has issued an order to dissolve far-right and radical Islamist groups ahead of parliamentary elections, which are being held under the shadow of increasing support for extremist parties. Gérald Darmanin, the French Minister of the Interior, announced on Wednesday, July 6, that the government has issued a dissolution order for several far-right and radical Islamist groups, citing the "risk of violence" as the legal justification for this action. One of the groups banned under this order is "Jiyoudi," known for its violent actions and anti-Semitism, whose members have previously supported Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right in France, in various ways. The call for early parliamentary elections by Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, has thrown the country into a hasty and chaotic electoral competition. Macron warned of the possibility of a "civil war" in France. A televised debate held on Tuesday night with the participation of the Prime Minister and two potential candidates for this position revealed that immigration, taxes, and retirement age are the main points of contention among the major parties. Recent polls indicate that the "National Rally" led by Marine Le Pen is likely to gain the most votes in the parliamentary elections, which will be held in two rounds on July 10 and 17, while Macron's centrist party is expected to fall significantly behind the far-right. However, due to the complex system and two-stage voting, predicting the outcomes of these elections is difficult. Jordan Bardella, the young leader of the National Rally, reiterated the party's plan to deny foreigners access to free healthcare and complicate the process of obtaining French citizenship. Another part of the National Rally's agenda, which involves banning dual citizens from holding "strategic" government positions, faced severe criticism from Gabriel Attal, the French Prime Minister, who described this plan as indicative of the true nature of the National Rally, which has always been accused of xenophobia and racism. Mr. Attal stated, "The message you are sending is that dual citizens are not real French citizens and are second-class citizens." Gabriel Attal added that the aim of this policy is not about dual citizens in high positions, as one of the parliamentary representatives of the National Rally and a member of the important Foreign Policy and Security Commission is a dual French-Russian citizen. In recent years, especially since the beginning of Jordan Bardella's presidency, the National Rally has softened some of its hardline positions, which was clearly evident in the televised debate. One of these issues is the increase in the retirement age from 62 to 65, which was approved by presidential executive order despite strong opposition in French society. The National Rally supports reverting the retirement age back to 62, but Mr. Bardella stated in the Tuesday night debate that 42 years of work is necessary to receive full retirement benefits, which effectively raises the retirement age for those entering the job market in their late twenties. This is the first time since the Nazi occupation of France during World War II that a far-right political party may take control of the government in this country. However, in the French political system, the powers of the president are much greater than those of the prime minister and the cabinet. Due to concerns about the rise of the far-right, other political parties on both the right and left have sought to strengthen their positions in this election by forming broad coalitions. Emmanuel Macron called for early general elections following a heavy defeat of his party to the far-right in the European Parliament elections held last month, which many experts believe has plunged France into a period of tension and instability.