Jordan Bardella is in Belgium: could he speak in our French-speaking media?

The president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, is at the center of attention. While he has just released his book “What I’m looking for”, with a print run of 150,000 copies, his presence in Brussels for a signing session raises questions. Does the media sanitary cordon apply to him in French-speaking Belgium?

In French-speaking Belgium, the media sanitary cordon stipulates that the media undertake not to give voice live to parties which defend racist or discriminatory theses. As president of a far-right party, Jordan Bardella is also affected by this measure. This cordon also implies that politicians refuse to debate on television or radio with xenophobic parties.

In April 2022, Georges-Louis Bouchez, president of the Reform Movement (MR), was accused of having broken this sanitary cordon. He had agreed to debate on Flemish television with the president of Vlaams Belang, a Flemish far-right party. Bouchez defended himself by affirming that the media sanitary cordon does not exist in Flanders, while specifying that he respected it on the French-speaking side.

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