Marine Le Pen's National Rally hopes polishing its act will deliver victory

Marine Le Pen's National Rally faces challenges after legislative defeat, focusing on candidate quality and party discipline.

After a shock defeat in France's legislative elections, Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) will double down on weeding out problematic candidates to counter successful efforts by mainstream parties to block the far right from power.

Polls had suggested the RN would secure the most seats in the snap two-round election, which French President Emmanuel Macron called after Ms. Le Pen's party was the clear victor of June's European parliamentary vote. Yet the RN ultimately placed third, with its hopes of forming France's first far-right government since World War II thwarted by centrist and left-wing parties who withdrew about 200 third-placed candidates to unify the anti-RN vote. The strategy, known as the "republican front", is a feature of French political life and has been used for decades to block the RN from power.

RN officials and lawmakers who spoke to Reuters believe the party can overcome this electoral barricade if it professionalises further, following a path laid out by Ms. Le Pen after she lost the 2017 presidential election to Macron. That means greater screening of potential candidates and tougher party discipline to avoid costly gaffes, they said.

In the run-up to the vote, media reports unveiled an RN candidate who had been photographed in a Nazi cap and another who sought to defend against the party's history of racism and antisemitism by saying she had a Jewish eye doctor and Muslim dentist. After the vote, a newly elected RN lawmaker was ejected from the party's parliamentary group for saying French Arabs had no place in government.

"We have to avoid these casting errors that cost us dearly and clearly hurt us," said Julien Masson, an RN official in Brittany.

Heads have already begun to roll, with Gilles Pennelle, a member of the European Parliament, stepping down from his role as the RN executive in charge of overseeing candidate lists. "He was blamed for the candidates who were not good, who were not up to the level," Mr. Masson said. Mr. Pennelle did not respond to requests for comment.

Two RN lawmakers told Reuters there would be more media training to avoid a repeat of embarrassing interviews in which candidates appeared amateurish. RN lawmaker Jean-Philippe Tanguy said the party was judged by an unfair standard, but acknowledged it needed to do better. “You always have to improve,” he told Reuters, adding that Ms. Le Pen’s 28-year-old protege Jordan Bardella would soon announce proposals to address “organisational problems.”