28-09-2026
Jordan Bardella, president of France’s hard-right National Rally (RN), has denied allegations published by investigative outlet Mediapart that he made antisemitic and conspiratorial comments in private conversations between 2013 and 2015. Mediapart reports that the conversations included remarks about Jewish people, Zionism, Israel and a supposed New World Order. It says the material was drawn from written exchanges that it independently verified and was supplemented by witness accounts. Bardella, who turned 18 in September 2013 and became the National Front’s departmental secretary in Seine-Saint-Denis the following year, called the claims “blatant fabrications.” He said he had instructed a lawyer to take legal action against Mediapart, and portrayed the reporting as a politically motivated attempt to damage his reputation and destabilise the presidential campaign. Marine Le Pen, Bardella’s close ally and mentor, also defended him, saying she could not believe the allegations and accusing Mediapart of “dirty tricks” and smear campaigns. Mediapart cofounder Edwy Plenel defended the investigation, describing it as the product of several months of work and dozens of written conversations that the outlet had independently checked. The controversy comes as Bardella has become one of the RN’s leading figures. The party has sought for years to distance itself from its founder Jean-Marie Le Pen’s legacy of antisemitic comments. The article reports the competing claims and responses but does not independently establish whether Bardella made the alleged remarks.
Entities: Jordan Bardella, Marine Le Pen, Edwy Plenel, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Mediapart • Tone: neutral • Sentiment: neutral • Intent: inform
28-09-2026
France 24 reports that a French investigative website alleged Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally and a close ally of Marine Le Pen, made antisemitic comments in writing in 2013. Bardella denied the allegations, calling them fake. The report places the dispute against the backdrop of France’s 2027 presidential election, saying Le Pen’s prospects appear stronger than at any point in her previous campaigns.
The supplied article text provides no further detail about the website’s evidence, the alleged remarks, or Bardella’s response beyond his denial. It also does not identify the investigative website. Instead, it notes that France 24’s Jennie Shin speaks with Dr Andrew Smith, a lecturer in History and Liberal Arts at Queen Mary University of London. The interview’s discussion and analysis are not included in the provided material, so its views cannot be summarized here.
The article therefore presents two connected developments: an allegation concerning Bardella’s past and the apparent strengthening of Le Pen’s electoral position. It reports the accusation and denial without resolving their validity. The political timing is notable, but the supplied text does not establish that the allegations have affected polling or explain the reasons behind Le Pen’s improved prospects.
Entities: Jordan Bardella, Marine Le Pen, National Rally, France, 2027 French presidential election • Tone: analytical • Sentiment: neutral • Intent: inform
28-09-2026
Agence France-Presse reports that Mediapart, a French investigative website, alleged that Jordan Bardella made antisemitic comments in writing in 2013, when he was a young activist. The article quotes one alleged message in which the speaker says that Jews must dominate, crush and rob other peoples, and that Zionists are necessarily Jewish. These remarks are presented as allegations published by Mediapart, not as established facts.
Bardella, now 31 and leader of the far-right National Rally (RN), rejected the claims on X, calling them “crude forgeries.” He later told CNews that his lawyer had filed a defamation lawsuit. Bardella argued that he was being targeted to destabilise the RN’s campaign to win the French presidency and to “kill me off politically.”
The report also situates the controversy in the context of French electoral politics: Bardella is described as a close ally of Marine Le Pen and as someone tipped to become prime minister if Le Pen becomes president. Le Pen dismissed the claims as fake. The article gives no further details about the alleged chat, the lawsuit, or any independent verification of the comments. Its focus is on the competing claims: Mediapart’s publication of the alleged 2013 remarks and Bardella’s categorical denial and legal response.
Entities: Jordan Bardella, Marine Le Pen, National Rally (RN), Mediapart, CNews • Tone: neutral • Sentiment: neutral • Intent: inform
