Assistant to French RN MP Dismissed for Racist and Antisemitic Posts

French National Rally (RN) MP Lisette Pollet made an immediate decision to dismiss her parliamentary assistant, Vincent Claudin. The direct reason was journalistic findings by the Mediapart website, which revealed the existence of anonymous accounts he operated on platform X. From these accounts, content described by media and politicians as racist, homophobic, and antisemitic was published. Pollet announced the termination of cooperation on the night of Tuesday, February 24 to Wednesday, February 25, 2026, via a statement published on X. In her statement, the MP from the Drôme department emphasized that the separation occurred "following the publication, on his personal social media accounts, of several messages whose content is contrary to the values, principles, and line of conduct that [she] upholds." She added that she "strongly condemns these statements," noting that responsibility for them lies solely with their author. The reaction from party colleagues was equally decisive. Another RN parliamentarian, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, in an interview with radio station RTL, described the revealed posts as "unforgivable" and confirmed they were published from accounts concealing identity. The National Rally, under the leadership of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, has for years pursued a political "normalization" or "de-demonization," aimed at cleansing the party's image of accusations of racism and antisemitism that weighed on it during the era of its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Incidents such as the current one pose a serious challenge to this long-term strategy. The figure of Vincent Claudin does not appear in this context for the first time. Media, including Mediapart and "Le Parisien," report his close ties to Quentin Deranque, a controversial far-right activist noted by services for links to neo-Nazi circles. This connection makes questions about the candidate vetting process in RN MPs' offices even more pressing. The Claudin case reveals the weakness or lack of effective filtering mechanisms in a party that aspires to the mainstream of political life. „Je suis vraiment tombée de haut” (I was truly taken aback) — Lisette Pollet. This statement by the MP, taken from her later remarks to BFMTV on February 26, conveys a sense of surprise and disappointment, but also raises doubts about the vigilance of parliamentarians regarding the selection of their closest collaborators. The scandal has a broader context on the French political scene. RN has for years struggled with similar incidents, where activists or collaborators reveal their extreme views. Each such affair forces the party leadership into quick, often ritual, condemnations, which however do not translate into systemic solutions. The current situation also tests the coherence of Jordan Bardella's narrative, who, as the new face of the party and prime minister, tries to present RN as a responsible and capable governing party. Dismissing one assistant does not close the case, but opens a discussion about the real transformation of the National Rally and the durability of its departure from radical roots.