Marine Le Pen made the claims at the launch of her book, entitled Livre Noir du Coronavirus, du fiasco à l'abîme (The Coronavirus Black Book, from fiasco to abyss) at a press conference at party headquarters in Nanterre near Paris on Tuesday.
Begun in May, before the easing of lockdown measures, the 168-page text squarely accuses President Emmanuel Macron and his government of misleading the public during the Covid-19 crisis.
The statement on the cover sets the tone: "They knew, they lied, they continue to grope in the dark".
📚 Notre #LivreNoirCOVID19 est disponible ! 🦠
— Rassemblement National (@RNational_off) July 28, 2020
Mensonges, incompétences et revirements : chronique de l’échec du gouvernement dans la gestion de la crise sanitaire 👉🏻 https://t.co/wboSs6Y16k
📹 Conférence de presse de @MLP_officiel et @J_Bardella 👉🏻 https://t.co/WXKBk7j4H9 pic.twitter.com/szJp07AQKX
Coordinated by special aide Philippe Olivier, the document, available only online, is divided into two parts – an 'autopsy' of the crisis, and a long chronology of key events. It is intended as a political audit and is designed to hold the current leadership to account, according to the far right National Rally.
Le Pen says the book is an effort to compile and analyse the crucial topics throughout the crisis, and her party's public reactions to them. They include the controversy over wearing masks, the debate over Professor Didier Raoult's promotion of the use of chloroquine to treat Covid-19 sufferers, and the question of border control.
Le Pen zeroes in on what she describes as the "failure of elites" whose "ultra-liberal ideology" and free-trade policies brought about the health crisis in the first place.
European leaders are strongly criticised for continuing to allow free movement throughout the bloc despite the warning signs, and Le Pen still insists that EU internal borders should be closed.
Harsh criticism of government players
She openly criticises the government's handling of confinement in suburban areas, and accuses the justice system of being too lax with regard to releasing prisoners during the crisis.
Along the way, President Macron is described as a theatrical king-like figure, using "smoke screen" communication in order to foster his image of "father of the nation".
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who stepped down in a cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, is accused of being largely absent from the battlefront, while health minister Oliver Véran, a "neophyte" on the political scene, "took refuge in lies," hiding behind his status as a doctor.
Meanwhile, government spokesperson during the crisis, Sibeth Ndiaye, also gets a roasting, being attacked for her "blundering incompetence" and "ethereal" disposition during the crisis.
Marine Le Pen is not the only person angry with the government's handling of the health situation.
A parliamentary inquiry is underway and dozens of legal complaints against public officials have been filed in the past few months.
