The ‘Meloni Model’ Won’t Tame France’s Populist Right

A reassuring idea has been taking hold in Paris. Many observers, especially in economic and industrial circles, harbor a quiet hope: that a victorious Rassemblement National (RN) might emulate the trajectory of Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. 

The assumption is increasingly explicit: if Marine Le Pen, the party’s longtime standard-bearer, or Jordan Bardella, its young president, wins, they will mirror the Italian prime minister’s pragmatic governance by tempering their rhetoric...