Abstract:
With the brisk rise of the Five Star Movement in Italy, the emergence of Law and
Justice as the largest party in the Polish parliament, and the entrance of the Alternative
for Deutschland as the third largest bloc in the German Bundestag, the eyes of the world
were centered on the 2017 French presidential election. The French Presidential election
could have ended with the inauguration of Marine Le Pen, leader of the National Front,
as president of the French Republic. As populism and nationalism swept away one
European country after the other, it was reasonable to think that the French far right had
a real chance to rule. Despite having lost to current president Emmanuel Macron, Le
Pen’s second place in the race was considered a remarkable achievement to her and her
party. This thesis explores the politician’s rhetoric and how it has evolved across the
years. It examines various speeches made by Le Pen on different occasions, starting
with the year 2010, during which she campaigned for the presidency of the National
Front, to 2017, only a few days prior to the presidential election. The purpose of this
examination is to understand and to depict the rhetoric manipulation techniques that
have had the ability to conceal the blatant tenets of Le Pen’s political discourse. This
thesis also endeavors to show how Le Pen’s communication of the same old message in a different method was executed to manipulate the French people’s votes. The thesis
employs a comparative approach to the analysis of different speeches of Le Pen in order
to capture her rhetoric style and ideology.
