Bardella denies writing antisemitic messages and files another complaint against Mediapart

Mediapart said the antisemitic messages attributed to Jordan Bardella came from private 2013 exchanges on Messenger, Facebook’s messaging service. According to France Info, the investigative outlet published screenshots and detailed how it authenticated the material.

Under that account, Mediapart also had a bailiff certify the conversation history after obtaining an archive of the exchange. Michaël Hajdenberg, one of the newsroom’s investigations editors, said the outlet looked through the lengthy conversation for details from Bardella’s private life that only he could have known at the time. He added that several of those points were later confirmed, in part, by Bardella’s 2024 autobiography, including references to his activist commitments and petitions he signed.

Bardella, the president of National Rally, pushed back on X. He described the reporting as unfair, unjust and misleading, and argued that the material consisted of crude fabrications based on screenshots that, in his view, can be manipulated and would not stand up in court.

France Info reported that Bardella had already filed a defamation complaint and had instructed his lawyer to submit a second one accusing Mediapart of forgery and use of forged documents.

In a separate interview cited by France Info, La France Insoumise lawmaker Éric Coquerel said the evidence published by Mediapart appeared persuasive and argued that the exchanges reflected entrenched antisemitic stereotypes. He also tied the case to what he described as the deeper nature of the former National Front and today’s National Rally. Bardella, for his part, continues to deny all allegations.

Sources

• France Info
• France Info

About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.