Over the last couple of weeks, the French extreme rightist party National Rally (NR) has initiated a unique membership campaign – new enrolments receive a signed photograph of Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella. Le Pen has established a strong international name over her decade-long leadership of the party, known for its anti-immigrant stance. Bardella, aged 28 and now leading NR since approximately 18 months back, may not have the same global recognition.
Despite Le Pen presumed to still be directing the party from behind the stage, the relatively fresh-faced Bardella has been welcomed as a novel political presence. His social media presence is filled with video content where he’s seen mingling and taking cheerful selfies with his supporters’ crowds.
Bardella, of Italian origin, grew up in an underprivileged suburb in the North of Paris, associating with the extreme-right party during his teenage years. Rising through the party’s ranks, he took the youth wing’s helm when Le Pen aimed to rid the party’s public perception of toxic elements. He was elected to the European Parliament at the age of 23 half a decade ago and more recently in 2022, took on the presidential role of the party.
With Emmanuel Macron ineligible for a third consecutive term and the central coalition yet to determine a clear successor, the extreme right sees the presidential election of 2027 as their golden opportunity. This would mark Le Pen’s fourth attempt at claiming the presidency for the party.
Bardella has been at the forefront of the party’s European election efforts, managing their charges in an election where opinion polls place NR clearly ahead of Macron’s political faction. The party’s plan is to capitalise on the prevalent dissatisfaction amongst the French populace with Macron. Election pamphlets circulated by canvassers showed Bardella and Le Pen projecting a united front against Macron’s policies on Europe, signalled by a straightforward message against his governance.
Most recently, Bardella revealed the party’s other election hopefuls at a rally in the southern French city of Perpignan, near to the Mediterranean coast- a known bastion for NR. The recent scandals over perceived Russian and Chinese influence which have hindered their extreme-right counterparts, Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD), seem unlikely to impact the French party’s campaigning strategy.
One of the candidates for the NR, Fabrice Leggeri, previously head of the EU’s border agency Frontex, is currently involved in a legal scandal. He is being charged with aiding in pushing back immigrant boats during his tenure at Frontex, allegations he unequivocally denies. The party has shown firm support for Leggeri, lauding him as an exemplary servant to the nation who is now a target of pro-immigration NGOs.
Bardella, in relation with the party’s immigration stance, is deemed an old ethos in a rejuvenated guise. Supporters have received campaign correspondence alluding to an unregulated migratory upheaval that is undermining daily life in France. Bardella echoed these sentiments during discussions on the newly passed EU migration pact, a comprehensive revamp of asylum policies. Arguing that mass immigration is a threat to Europe’s security and identity, he called for rejection of the reforms, deeming them insufficiently right-leaning.
Bruno Cautrès, a scholar at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, views Bardella as a significant electoral windfall for the NR, referring to him as the “bright new hope of French politics”. Throughout the campaign, the party has pledged certain tax reliefs for farmers and reductions in fuel and energy taxes, along with stringent immigration control measures. The June vote has been framed as a clash between patriotic backers and far-left challengers.
Contrarily, Bardella has sidestepped several early debates, even departing a press conference last week without acknowledging journalists’ questions. Sébastien Maillard of the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris suggests that Bardella will likely keep clear of in-depth policy discussions, preferring to stay within his comfort zone of issues such as immigration and the rising cost of living. His avoidance of taking political risks aligns him with populist tactics, a strategy Maillard argues has bolstered his popularity, given the nature of contemporary politics.