Le Pen's National Rally opens its congress in Orléans before her 2027 campaign launch; thousands march against it

Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) opened a two-day congress in Orléans on 24-10-2026. Party president Jordan Bardella was expected to be re-elected leader, and the congress ends on Sunday with a rally launching Le Pen's campaign for the 2027 presidential election, Euronews reported. Polls put Le Pen as the leading contender, Al Jazeera reported.

Thousands marched in Orléans against the congress in a protest called by about 50 parties, unions and associations against what they called "racism, fascism and imperialism". Police counted 11,000 marchers and organisers 26,000, and the march ended peacefully in the early afternoon, CBS News reported. Marchers chanted "Macron resign. Le Pen in prison."

Nearly 3,000 police and gendarmes were deployed, and Mayor Serge Grouard imposed a weekend night curfew for children under 15, Euronews reported.