Editing National Rally (section)

==== Decline (2003–2010) ====
[[File:LePencestpossible.jpg|thumb|left|National advertisement in [[Marseille]] for Le Pen's 2007 presidential bid]]
A new electoral system of two-round voting had been introduced for the [[2004 French regional elections|2004 regional elections]], in part in an attempt to reduce the FN's influence in regional councils.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=297}} The FN won 15.1% of the vote in metropolitan France, almost the same as in 1998, but its number of councillors was almost halved due to the new system.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=298}} For the [[2004 European Parliament election in France|2004 European elections]], too, a new system less favourable to the FN had been introduced.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=300}} The party regained some of its strength from 1999, earning 9.8% of the vote and seven seats.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=300}}

For the [[2007 French presidential election|2007 presidential election]], Le Pen and Mégret agreed to join forces. Le Pen came 4th in the election with 11% of the vote, and the party won no seats in the [[2007 French legislative election|legislative election of the same year]]. The party's 4.3% support was the lowest score since the 1981 election and only one candidate, [[Marine Le Pen]] in [[Pas de Calais]], reached the runoff -where she was defeated by the Socialist incumbent. These electoral defeats partly accounted for the party's financial problems. Le Pen announced the sale of the FN headquarters in [[Saint-Cloud]], ''Le Paquebot'', and of his personal armoured car.<ref>{{cite news|first=Pascal|last=Riché|url=http://www.rue89.com/mon-oeil/apres-le-paquebot-le-pen-vend-sa-605-blindee-sur-ebay|title=Après le "Paquebot", Le Pen vend sa 605 blindée sur eBay|work=[[Rue 89]]|date=29 April 2008|access-date=5 July 2011|language=fr|archive-date=22 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522141611/http://www.rue89.com/mon-oeil/apres-le-paquebot-le-pen-vend-sa-605-blindee-sur-ebay|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, a French court handed Le Pen a three-month suspended sentence and a €10,000 fine for remarks he made in 2005 that contravened France's law against [[Holocaust denial]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Encyclopedia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/ |access-date=2024-06-14 |website=Britannica}}</ref> Twenty permanent employees of the FN were also dismissed in 2008.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.20minutes.fr/article/228650/Politique-La-Peugeot-de-Le-Pen-a-nouveau-mise-en-vente-sur-ebay.php|title=La Peugeot de Le Pen à nouveau mise en vente sur ebay|work=[[20 minutes (France)|20 Minutes]]|date=30 April 2008|access-date=5 July 2011|first=Alexandre|last=Sulzer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927115753/http://www.20minutes.fr/article/228650/Politique-La-Peugeot-de-Le-Pen-a-nouveau-mise-en-vente-sur-ebay.php|archive-date=27 September 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In the [[2010 French regional elections|2010 regional elections]] the FN appeared to have re-emerged on the political scene after surprisingly winning almost 12% of the overall vote and 118 seats.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7448051/Far-Right-National-Front-performs-well-in-French-regional-elections.html|work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|title=Far-Right National Front performs well in French regional elections|first=Henry|last=Samuel|location=Paris|date=15 March 2010|access-date=15 April 2011|archive-date=18 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100318042117/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7448051/Far-Right-National-Front-performs-well-in-French-regional-elections.html|url-status=live}}</ref>