Party leader of the Rassemblement National cornered by revelation of antisemitic chats

In France, controversy has arisen over Jordan Bardella, the party leader of the far-right Rassemblement National. Investigative outlet Mediapart revealed that Bardella made antisemitic remarks in online posts in 2013. The RN leader denies having made the remarks and speaks of “blatant lies.”

Mediapart writes (opens in new window) that it bases its findings on months of research into dozens of messages and emails.

Bardella was 17 or 18 years old when, as a young activist of Front National, the predecessor of Rassemblement National, he is said to have made the controversial remarks. According to Mediapart, Bardella wrote, among other things, in a chat that "all banks are in the hands of Jews." He then continued: "The Jew must dominate the other peoples, crush them and rob them. (...) And that is what they want: a New World Order dominated by Israel, with Jerusalem, of course, as its capital."

In another message, the RN leader would lash out at some French ministers during the presidency of François Hollande, for whom "Israel and the interests of the banking world," according to him, took priority "over French interests."

The investigative platform submitted the fragments to Bardella before publication. He responded sharply in an email. He denied “most strongly” that he had “made racist or antisemitic remarks of this kind, both in public and in private, orally or in writing.” He said on X(opens in new window) that he has instructed his lawyer to begin “all necessary proceedings” against the investigative platform.

"The fact that I was not an active member of the Front National in the summer of 2013 and was still a minor should make you realize how unreliable these sources are," he said further. In interviews, Bardella has previously said that he was already a member of the party in 2012.

RN figurehead Marine Le Pen also strongly denounced the Mediapart revelation to deny it. "No sane person can believe this nonsense," she said when asked during a visit to a construction trade fair. She admitted she had not read the article. "But it seems so absurd to me that it can only be a forgery, a smear campaign that Mediapart is so good at."

Other parties also reacted to the news surrounding Bardella. The president of the Parti Socialiste recalled with some irony Bardella's earlier claim that Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the Front National, was not an antisemite. Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine's father, has been convicted several times for antisemitism.

Aurore Bergé, the French Minister for Equality and the Fight against Discrimination, called Bardella's antisemitic remarks "extremely serious, if they turn out to be true."

The accusations against the leader of RN come at a time when Marine Le Pen has a better chance of becoming president than ever before. A poll showed this week that Le Pen is doing so well that she could win the 2027 election.