Dear John,

Yesterday was Bastille Day – the anniversary of the 1789 uprising that helped birth modern democracy in France. A moment when people rose up against repression, demanding liberty, justice, and a voice in how they were governed.

But 236 years later, the ideals of that revolution are being tested again.

In last July’s French elections, the far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies won over 10.6 million votes – 33.21% of the national total. A dangerous high watermark for a party with authoritarian ambitions.

And yet, despite topping the first round, RN were blocked from taking power – not by lack of support, but by an uneasy firewall of rivals. The left-wing and centrist blocs were not parties, but alliances. They worked together to keep the far-right out. And they succeeded – just.

But for how long?

33.21% might sound familiar. It’s just 0.5% less than Labour won in the UK – and they now hold a supermajority in Parliament.

In France, the same level of support nearly handed power to an extremist party. Next time, it might. Different countries. Different systems. Same risk: a divisive populist movement seizing control.

And with Nigel Farage’s party polling in the 30s, that threat isn’t theoretical – it’s here.

So France’s far-right rise isn’t simply about mass support. It’s about:
* Disinformation, spread across social media, often unchecked.
* Dark money and foreign donations, financing campaigns that the public can’t properly scrutinise.
* Disillusionment, stoked by a far-right for their own political gain.
* And a non-proportional voting, which can distorts the true makeup of public support and give outsize influence to those willing to divide.

The National Rally’s agenda includes ending droit du sol – stripping citizenship from people raised in France. It’s the French version of Trump’s attacks on birthright citizenship in America. And we’ve seen how that story ends:
* 70+ American citizens deported by ICE
* Tens of thousands detained without criminal charges
* Innocent people sent to violent prisons abroad
* Trump’s “Alligator Alcatraz” – a dystopian detention facility for migrants

In 1789, Parisians stormed the Bastille to tear down walls of tyranny – not build new ones.

Marine Le Pen was found guilty of misusing EU funds and banned from standing for office. Yet the movement grows. Among supporters, she’s seen not as disgraced – but as a martyr. And in her absence, they’ve rallied around Jordan Bardella: younger, slicker, and no less dangerous.

If he becomes President, what will Bastille Day celebrate? A people’s uprising for justice, or a state that turns liberty into a privilege for the few?

Bardella’s Bastille cannot be allowed to become a reality.

A threat to democracy anywhere is a threat to democracy everywhere. Le Pen’s National Rally in France. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the Britain. Trump’s MAGA in the United States. These movements echo one another, and they all rely on the same playbook: sow distrust, silence dissent, and strip away rights one by one.

This Bastille Day, we remember: Revolutions are built on hope. Far-right movements are built on fear.

Our job is to know the difference and stand on the right side of history.

All the best,

James Patrick
Campaigns and Content Officer
Open Britain
SUPPORT OUR WORK ([link removed])

View email in browser ([link removed])
Open Britain . Orion House . 14 Barn Hill . Stamford, PE9 2AE . United Kingdom
update your preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe ([link removed])