The French “have rendered a final verdict”: this is what the young president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, said after his party’s victory in the first round of the French legislative elections on Sunday.
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The second round of legislative elections on July 7 will be “one of the most decisive in the entire history of the Fifth Republic”, founded in 1958, added the 28-year-old politician. He also assured that he wanted to be, if he won, “the prime minister of all French people”, “a prime minister of cohabitation, respectful of the Constitution”, but “intransigent”.
If Jordan Bardella becomes prime minister, it would be the first time a far-right government has led France since World War II, when an unelected collaborationist regime was established.
Here are five things to know about Jordan Bardella, who embodies the youthful shift of the far right in France.
1 – He is Marine Le Pen’s protégé
Jordan Bardella is the disciple of Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate in the last two presidential elections in France. She nicknames him “the lion”.
He has been a member of the National Rally (RN), Le Pen’s party, since the age of 17. He quickly rose through the ranks to become the team’s president in 2021.
Photo AFP
Marine Le Pen
Several analysts point out that Jordan Bardella’s great popularity could eventually threaten Marine Le Pen’s leadership within her own party.
2 – He comes from a modest neighborhood
Born in 1995 in the Paris suburbs to an Italian immigrant mother, Jordan Bardella has made his modest past the cornerstone of his political identity.
He frequently talks about his childhood spent in a council estate and his mother’s financial difficulties. He also describes himself as a survivor of a “dangerous” suburb where drugs and radical Islam hold the population hostage.
“I am involved in politics because of everything I experienced there. So that it does not become the prerogative of the whole of France. Because what is happening there is not normal,” he told the daily. The world at the beginning of June.
3 – He says immigration is a deadly threat
Jordan Bardella believes that immigration is one of the main threats to the security and identity of the French.
“Our civilization may die if we do not quickly regain control of our migration policy. It can die, because the migratory submersion will have changed our culture, with no possible way back,” he declared during a rally on June 9.
In a televised debate in May, he commented on the recent death of a 15-year-old French boy stabbed by an immigrant of the same age. He then asserted that “immigration has become the worst fuel for street violence and insecurity.” [en France]».
In January, a report from the France 2 television network alleged that he had used an anonymous Twitter account to broadcast racist messages when he was a local elected official, which he denied.
4 – He has a million subscribers on TikTok
Jordan Bardella owes a large part of his popularity to the image he projects, particularly on social networks.
In his official travels, he is accompanied by a team responsible for feeding – in real time – his TikTok and Instagram accounts, followed by 1.3 million and 555,000 subscribers respectively. His entourage notably shares images of crowds where we see the candidate with young girls on the verge of tears.
In an interview with BFMTV on June 9, members of his campaign team recognized that his physical appearance, which gives him the air of the “ideal son-in-law”, “certainly” gives him an advantage with the electorate.
5 – He is criticized for his lack of depth
Jordan Bardella is accused of caring more for his media image than his knowledge of the issues.
He is particularly criticised for refusing to answer journalists’ questions on issues concerning the European Union.
He is also criticised for his “absenteeism” in the European Parliament, where he has sat since 2019. Some French parliamentarians have nicknamed him the “ghost MP”.
− With information from AFP, Le Monde, France 24 and Le Figaro.
