French Hard-Right Leader to Sue Over Alleged Antisemitic Remarks

Jordan Bardella, the president of France's hard-right National Rally (RN) party, announced he will sue for libel over allegations of antisemitic comments made as a young activist. The investigative website Mediapart published the claims, based on what it described as months of investigation into "dozens of written conversations" Bardella allegedly had in 2013.

Bardella, who is a likely prime minister if RN presidential candidate Marine Le Pen wins the upcoming election, condemned the allegations as a fabrication and the "beginnings of a total war" aimed at destabilizing his party. Le Pen expressed her full confidence in Bardella, suggesting the alleged remarks were a "dirty trick" and likely a forgery.

Mediapart reported that the alleged remarks, made when Bardella was between 17 and 18 years old, included statements such as "All the banks are owned by Jews," "The Jew has to dominate other people, crush them and rob them," and "What they want is a new world order dominated by Israel, with of course Jerusalem as its capital." The website stated that it had "independently authenticated" the conversations through a "bigger documentary base corroborated by witness statements," though it did not provide screen-grabs of the alleged remarks.

Mediapart, a left-leaning website known for exposing scandals, faces Bardella's legal challenge as the RN is currently performing strongly in pre-election polls. One recent survey indicated Le Pen would win a second-round presidential election against various opponents. The party also recently gained enough seats in the Senate to form an official group, marking a significant boost.

Under Marine Le Pen's leadership, the RN has sought to distance itself from the party's historical association with antisemitism. Bardella himself was the first senior RN figure to visit Israel for a conference on antisemitism. The party now positions itself as a defender against militant Islam and a "shield for the Jewish community."

The alleged comments, according to Mediapart, suggest a persistent current of far-right thinking within the party that has been concealed rather than eradicated. Leftwing politicians have called for Bardella's resignation, and the head of the Jewish umbrella organization Crif stated the alleged comments illustrated the "limits of the RN's clean-up act."

However, RN deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy suggested the allegations originated from expelled party members with antisemitic views who were purged years ago. He claimed these individuals have consistently opposed the party's current leadership.