Editing National Rally (section)

==== Foundation (1972–1973) ====
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 | image1 = Movimento Sociale Italiano Logo.svg
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 | alt2 = Logo of the National Front between 1972 and 2007
 | footer = '''Left:''' Logo of the Italian Social Movement<br />'''Right:''' Logo of the National Front between 1972 and 2007
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While ''Ordre Nouveau'' had competed in some local elections since 1970, at its second congress, in June 1972, it decided to establish a new political party to contest the [[1973 French legislative election|1973 legislative elections]].{{sfn|Shields|2007|pp=163–164}}{{sfn|DeClair|1999|pp=36 f}} The party was launched on 5 October 1972 under the name '''National Front for French Unity''' (''Front national pour l'unité française''), or '''Front National'''.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=169}} In order to create a broad movement, ON sought to model the new party on the more established [[Italian Social Movement]] (MSI), which at the time appeared to establish a broad coalition of the Italian hard right. The FN adopted a French version of the MSI tricolour flame as its logo.{{sfn|Shields|2007|pp=159, 169}}{{sfn|DeClair|1999|pp=31, 36–37}}{{sfn|Kitschelt|McGann|1997|p=94}} ON wanted to unite the various French far-right currents, and brought together "nationals" of Le Pen's group and [[Roger Holeindre]]'s Party of French Unity; "nationalists" from [[Pierre Bousquet]]'s ''Militant'' movement or [[François Brigneau]]'s and Alain Robert's [[Ordre Nouveau (1960s)|Ordre Nouveau]]; the [[anti-Gaullist]] [[Georges Bidault]]'s Justice and Liberty movement; as well as former [[Poujadists]], Algerian War veterans, and some monarchists, among others.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=169}}{{sfn|DeClair|1999|p=13}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.france-politique.fr/chronologie-fn.htm|title=Chronologie du Front National FN|last=De Boissieu|first=Laurent|website=France Politique|issn=1765-2898|access-date=31 August 2019|archive-date=31 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831115618/https://www.france-politique.fr/chronologie-fn.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Le Pen was chosen to be the first president of the party, as he was untainted with the militant public image of the ON and was a relatively moderate figure in the far-right.{{sfn|DeClair|1999|pp=38 f}}{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=170}}

The National Front fared poorly in the [[1973 French legislative election|1973 legislative elections]], receiving 0.5% of the national vote, although Le Pen won 5% in his Paris constituency.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=171}} In 1973, the party created a youth movement, the ''Front national de la jeunesse'' (National Front of Youth; FNJ). The rhetoric used in the campaign stressed old, far-right themes and was largely uninspiring to the electorate at the time.{{sfn|DeClair|1999|p=39}} Otherwise, its official program at this point was relatively moderate, differing little from the mainstream right's.{{sfn|Shields|2007|pp=173 f}} Le Pen sought the "total fusion" of the currents in the party, and warned against "crude activism."{{sfn|Shields|2007|pp=174 f}} The FNJ were banned from the party later that year.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=175}}{{sfn|DeClair|1999|p=39}} The move towards the mainstream cost it many leading members and much of its militant base.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=175}}

In the [[1974 French presidential election|1974 presidential election]], Le Pen failed to find a mobilising theme for his campaign,{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=176 f}} since many of its platform's major issues, such as [[anti-communism]], were shared by most of the mainstream right.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=183}} Other FN issues included calls for increased French birth rates, immigration reduction (although this was downplayed), establishment of a professional army, abrogation of the [[Évian Accords]], and generally the creation of a "French and European [[renaissance]]."{{sfn|Shields|2007|pp=177, 185}} Despite being the only nationalist candidate, he failed to gain the support of the whole of the far-right, as the various groups either rallied behind other candidates or called for voter abstention.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=177}} The campaign further lost ground when the [[Revolutionary Communist League (France)|Revolutionary Communist League]] made public a report of Le Pen's alleged involvement in torture during his time in Algeria.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=177}} In his first participation in a presidential election, Le Pen won only 0.8% of the national vote.{{sfn|Shields|2007|p=177}}