Bardella vows libel action over alleged antisemitic comments as RN eyes power
The president of France’s hard‑right National Rally – Jordan Bardella – has announced plans to sue for defamation after Mediapart released what it claims were antisemitic remarks he allegedly made in 2013. The evidence, presented as a compilation of private conversations, was said to be the product of several months of investigation. Though the site has not supplied screenshots, it insists the material has been authenticated and corroborated by witnesses.
Bardella, who is 31 and widely seen as the likely prime minister if Marine Le Pen wins next year’s presidential election, said the allegations were a deliberate attempt to destabilise the RN campaign. “Everything is being done to destabilise the campaign,” he told CNews television. “Either Mediapart is running this operation itself, or it is being manipulated by interested parties.”
Le Pen backed him, calling the stated remarks “weird” and suggesting they were a forgery in a play that Mediapart is rumored to specialise in. She added that the alleged comments were fabricated to undermine the RN’s clean‑up act.
Among the claimed statements were stereotypes such as “all the banks are owned by Jews” and “the Jew has to dominate other people, crush them and rob them.” These allegations, if true, would revive long‑fading far‑right tropes that the RN claims it has moved beyond, especially after inviting a delegation from Israel for a conference on antisemitism last year.
The RN’s surge in pre‑election polls – with Le Pen topping competitor lists for the first round and a projected 69% win in a theoretical runoff against left‑wing candidate Jean‑Luc Mélenchon – has drawn sharp criticism from left‑wing politicians and the Jewish umbrella organisation Crif. The latter warned the remarks illustrated the limits of the RN’s clean‑up, while RN deputies defended the party, blaming disgruntled ex‑members for spreading the allegations.
The incident sparks a wider debate over the RN’s historical ties to antisemitic sentiment and its efforts to rebrand itself as a “shield for the Jewish community.” Whether the lawsuit will succeed remains unanswered, but it is clear that the upcoming election will test how French politics navigates allegations, defamation and public perception in a highly polarized environment.
