Faced with agricultural unions, the RN between flirting and tension

The scene has become familiar: impassive oxen watch a human mass bristling with poles and cameras glide by. Onlookers approach and their faces often light up when they see Jordan Bardella's head sticking out, sometimes concentrated, sometimes wrinkled with a forced smile. And here and there, as if they had come for the show, one or two yellow caps with a vest emblazoned with the slogan: "Leave us alone, let us work." On Sunday, like last year, the president of the National Rally began his two-day marathon at the Salon de l'agriculture. The opportunity to showcase his complicity with the rural and agricultural world, its professionals and its unions, first and foremost the Rural Coordination (CR), recognizable by its yellow caps and its willingly rowdy, even downright violent, style. But also to get closer to the National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA) and its ally, the Young Farmers (JA), traditionally closer to the traditional right. In short, to try to get on well with everyone - with the exception of the Confédération paysanne, marked on the left -, even if it sometimes means confusing its own political message.

With the main representatives of the agricultural world, the far-right party has come a long way. After voting to censure the Barnier government on 4 December, the National Front deputies exposed themselves to a fairly offensive campaign by the FNSEA. "By voting for censure, the deputies