Jordan Bardella, the 31‑year‑old president of France’s hard‑right National Rally (RN), has accused political opponents of launching a “total war” to undermine his party after a Mediapart investigation alleged he made antisemitic comments as a teenager. The accusations have sparked a fierce rebuttal from the RN and its leader Marine Le Pen, who describe the report as a fabricated smear campaign aimed at derailing the party’s growing momentum ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
What Mediapart alleged
The left‑leaning investigative site Mediapart released what it said was the result of “several months” of research into “dozens of written conversations” Bardella supposedly had in 2013, when he was 17 or 18. The alleged remarks included classic antisemitic tropes such as:
- “All the banks are owned by Jews.”
- “The Jew has to dominate other people, crush them and rob them.”
- “What they want is a new world order dominated by Israel, with of course Jerusalem as its capital.”
Mediapart claimed the conversations were authenticated independently and corroborated by witness statements, although it did not provide screen‑captures of the original texts.
RN’s response: a claim of total war
In an interview with CNews, Bardella said the allegations were a deliberate attempt to “destroy his political career” and warned that “everything is going to be done to destabilise the campaign.” He framed the episode as the “beginnings of a total war” aimed at the RN, suggesting that either Mediapart itself or parties manipulating the outlet were behind the operation.
Marine Le Pen echoed this sentiment, calling the alleged remarks “so weird they can only be a forgery” and accusing Mediapart of “dirty tricks.” RN deputy Jean‑Philippe Tanguy added that the source of the allegations was likely “disaffected members of the party who had been expelled years ago because of their antisemitic ideas.”
Political context: polls and parliamentary gains
The RN’s fortunes have risen in recent months. A Toluna‑Harris poll released a week before the story showed Le Pen leading the first‑round field with 35‑36 % of the vote, and projected a 69 % win in a hypothetical runoff against leftist candidate Jean‑Luc Mélenchon. The same poll indicated Le Pen would also beat centrist former prime minister Edouard Philippe with 57 %.
On the legislative front, the RN secured enough Senate seats in a partial election to form an official group for the first time, a milestone that underscores the party’s expanding parliamentary presence.
Efforts to distance from antisemitism
Under Marine Le Pen, the RN has sought to shed its historic far‑right antisemitic image. Last year, Bardella was the first senior RN figure invited to Israel for a conference on antisemitism, and the party now positions itself as a “shield for the Jewish community,” emphasizing militant Islam as a primary threat.
Nevertheless, the Mediapart allegations have reignited concerns about lingering extremist currents within the RN. Yonathan Arfi, head of the Jewish umbrella organisation CRIF, described the alleged comments as “an illustration of the limits of the RN’s clean‑up act.”
Uncertainty and next steps
While Bardella announced plans to sue for libel, the lack of publicly released evidence makes it difficult for independent observers to verify the authenticity of the alleged conversations. The RN’s claim of a “total war” reflects genuine anxiety about the potential impact of the story on the party’s campaign, but it also raises questions about the extent to which political opponents may be leveraging media investigations for strategic gain.
As the presidential election approaches, the episode is likely to remain a flashpoint in the broader debate over the RN’s transformation and the role of media in shaping French politics.
Key takeaways
- Alleged antisemitic remarks: Mediapart claims Bardella made extremist statements in 2013, but provides no direct documentation.
- RN’s counter‑narrative: Bardella and Le Pen describe the report as a fabricated attack, framing it as part of a broader “total war” against the party.
- Electoral momentum: Recent polls and Senate gains suggest the RN is gaining traction despite the controversy.
- Unresolved verification: The dispute hinges on evidence that has not been publicly disclosed, leaving the factual accuracy of the alleged comments uncertain.
For voters, the controversy underscores the importance of scrutinizing both the sources of political allegations and the motives behind their dissemination, especially as France heads toward a pivotal election.