The Right-Wing Architect in the French Senate: Who is Edwige Diaz?

French politician Edwige Diaz did not begin her political career within the "National Rally"; she voted for former President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2007 elections before joining Marine Le Pen's party five years later.

Since that transition, Diaz built a path within the party that began with successive electoral losses, before reaching the National Assembly in 2022 and becoming one of its most prominent figures in Gironde. Today, at age 38, Diaz enters a new phase of her career after being elected as a member of the Senate, subsequently taking over the presidency of the National Rally group in the chamber.

Her rise reflects the party's move into an institution where its presence had been limited for decades, while Diaz transitions from fieldwork in southwestern France to a leadership position in one of the two parliamentary chambers. So, who is the woman who cut this path from the Sarkozy camp to leading the National Rally deputies in the Senate?

From Supporting Sarkozy to Joining Le Pen
Diaz, born in Marseille to a grandfather who was a long-time communist, began her professional career as an administrative assistant after studying Spanish, entering politics through the "Union for a Popular Movement" (the former name of the Republicans party), voting for Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007.

The decisive turn came in 2012, when she met Marine Le Pen at a rally during her first presidential campaign, immediately joining the party at a time when Florian Philippot, then deputy leader, sought to transform the movement into a more professional entity by attracting new talent.

Diaz quickly drew attention, and European MP Jacques Colombier, close to Jean-Marie Le Pen, took her under his wing and pushed her to work in the Gironde prefecture.

Years of Formative Defeats
After two losses in municipal elections and then the Senate, 2015 was exceptional: she was elected as a member of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional council and then president of the National Rally branch in Gironde.

In 2017, she lost the legislative election to the candidate from the "Renaissance" party amidst the Macron wave, but obtained nearly 43% of the votes in the second round.

The scenario repeated in 2020 when she failed to become mayor of the town of "Saint-Savin" near Bordeaux, despite qualifying for the second round in an area known for its electoral moderation.

A party cadre comments: "It was very useful for her to lose several times. She plowed the ground, accumulated failures, and saw what worked and what didn't for her. Nothing gets out of control with her, and voters like that."

2022.. The Expected Victory and Entry into Parliament
The social composition of the Bordeaux countryside helped her, which includes agricultural workers with limited income and difficulty accessing Bordeaux due to winding roads, and had been a stronghold of the "Yellow Vests" movement.

2022 was her year, as she defeated the outgoing Macronist deputy and entered the National Assembly, receiving notable recognition for her frequent appearances alongside Marine Le Pen, including in the first group photo of deputies where she stood to the right of the group president, a rare privilege noted within the party.

A deputy from the "Republicans" says: "She perfectly met the criteria the party wanted to highlight. Young, female, speaks and appears very well."

Rapid Rise Within the Party
After months of frequent television appearances in confrontations with members of "La France Insoumise" and Macronists, she became vice-president of the National Rally, then achieved notable success thanks to the sudden dissolution of the National Assembly in June 2024; she was among the 39 deputies re-elected directly in the first round.

Socialist deputy for Gironde Sébastien Saint-Pastour analyzes that this vote was fueled by a feeling of social decline linked to rising energy prices, adding that she "also masters being highly present."

Gironde Municipalities Fall One After Another
She also relied on the relative success of the National Rally in the municipal elections last March, a challenge for a party that suffered for years from establishing its local presence except in a few symbolic cities such as Perpignan and Hénin-Beaumont.

Diaz won several municipalities in Gironde, starting with her stronghold "Saint-Savin," in results that heralded a positive climate ahead of the Senate elections, which had long remained elusive for Bardella's cadres.

Days before the vote, Marine Le Pen made sure to visit the victims of fires in the "Le Bourg" area of Gironde accompanied by Diaz, although the constituency does not belong to her but to Socialist deputy Pascale Got; this allowed images that spread throughout the local press during the Senate campaign.

Historic Entry and Ten Seats
On Sunday evening, the achievement materialized: Diaz entered the Senate with 9 other deputies from the "National Rally," allowing the party to surpass the threshold of ten elected members, added to by two from the "Union for the Republic" party belonging to its ally Eric Ciotti.

This number is not symbolic: having 10 members and a parliamentary group means guaranteeing more collaborators, wider media presence, and the possibility of discussing private law proposals and forming inquiry committees.

Difficult Mission.. Unifying Diverse Deputies
Diaz is now the group president, a task that is far from honorary; she must make members with very different profiles work together, between deputies with a social tendency like Joshua Hochart from the North, and others with more liberal orientations like Laurent Castu, close to Ciotti.

The parliamentary group is also considered a potential "safety valve" for deputies from the "Republicans" who might consider joining the National Rally before presidential elections that seem difficult for Bruno Retailleau's camp.

But the mission is not easy; despite the party's historic entry into the Senate for the first time in the Fifth Republic, it is unlikely to impose its agenda effectively or be a broad attraction force.

So far, only one member from the "Republicans" has crossed the "Rubicon" towards the National Rally, while another deputy whose accession was expected has retreated. Republican Senator Roger Karoutchi summarizes the situation: "15 senators in the National Rally group is a large number, but it remains less than our number. Good luck leaving a mark there."

Edwige Diaz's career, from a young activist under Sarkozy to a rising star taking a leadership position in one of the oldest institutions of the French Republic, embodies the National Rally's strategy of choosing young faces combining media presence and field solidity. But the real challenge facing her lies not in entering the fortress, but in proving that the party can leave a real impact inside it, in a chamber still clearly dominated by the traditional right.