World
RN rallies behind Jordan Bardella after antisemitism accusations
Marine Le Pen’s party denounced a political setup after a Mediapart investigation. Across French politics, rivals responded with sharp criticism and calls for clarification over the messages attributed to the RN leader.
France’s National Rally (RN) moved to defend its president, Jordan Bardella, after Mediapart published an investigation attributing old antisemitic messages to him. According to France Info, Bardella again rejected the allegations before RN lawmakers and said the aim was to destroy his political career.
Bardella argued that nothing in his political record could be described as antisemitic. Marine Le Pen also renewed what she described as her full confidence in him and promised a counterattack against the investigative outlet.
Within the RN, party figures described the affair as a political operation. Thomas Ménagé, spokesperson for the RN group in the National Assembly, said on France 2 that it was a setup unfolding at a time when polling suggests a possible change in power. Laurent Jacobelli, the group’s vice president, told franceinfo that the case amounted either to manipulation or to a crude fake. Another RN lawmaker, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, said on LCI that the messages had been leaked by political forces that, in his account, were present inside the party in the early 2010s and were later pushed out.
The report prompted condemnation from across the political spectrum. Raphaël Glucksmann wrote on X that the far right remains the far right. François Ruffin linked the case to the history of the party founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen. Romain Eskenazi, spokesperson for the Socialist group in the National Assembly, said in remarks broadcast by LCP that the revelations confirm the deeply antisemitic nature of Marine Le Pen’s party.
From La France Insoumise, Mathilde Panot said at a press conference that behind the façade there is still the same racist poison. Manuel Bompard told France Inter that, if the statements are authentic, they once again show that antisemitism is part of the DNA of the French far right. Jean-Luc Mélenchon had already said on Monday night that Bardella must demonstrate his opposition to the antisemitic and conspiratorial remarks attributed to him.
Criticism also came from other quarters. Benjamin Haddad, the minister for Europe, said the RN cannot present itself as a shield for the Jewish community. On the right, Meaux mayor Jean-François Copé told RTL that the alleged remarks were extremely serious and said that if Mediapart proves them, the burden will fall on Bardella, Marine Le Pen and the wider RN leadership. Former prime minister Dominique de Villepin told franceinfo that such remarks would be unacceptable if they were indeed made.
Sources
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.
