Jordan Bardella, 28, who is known for his smile and selfies, is the president of the far-right National Rally (RN) and a prime ministerial hopeful. The son of an Italian immigrant, he dropped out of Sobornne University in Paris to pursue a full-time career in politics.
As Marine Le Pen’s protege, Bardella is a young and fresh face of the party and follows party lines. With his signature clean-shaven look and slicked-back hair, the suave politician attends political meetings in a suit.
The young politician boasts of 1.3 million followers on TikTok. The far-right leader vying for France’s prime minister spot appears as a friendly politician alongside enthusiastic supporters to his followers. He also has 4.7 million followers on Twitter and 7.9 million followers on Instagram.
His image has reportedly been carefully crafted by Le Pen, aiming to distance the RN from its xenophobic and antisemitic past.
According to investigative journalist Pierre-Stephane Fort, Bardella’s rapid ascent is largely attributed to his romantic involvement with the daughter of a former RN advisor, Frederick Châtillon. Fort has recently written a critical unauthorised biography of the politician.
Châtillon happens to be a close friend of Le Pen and Bardella was introduced to the latter by the former.
Bardella has promised the people of France to take control of the nation’s migration policy if he becomes the prime minister. Following the election, he said, “Our country’s calling is not to be the world’s hotel.”
“Once we are in charge, immigrant ships run by the mafia of people traffickers will not be allowed to dock in French ports,” he added.
Among the RN president’s other priorities include boosting purchasing power and restoring order and security. Besides, Bardella said if he is installed, he will protect the rights and freedom of the French people, their Republican motto.
The far-right National Rally has garnered approximately a third of the vote in the initial round of the French legislative elections, however, this may still not be sufficient to achieve an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
The RN solidified its position as France’s leading party by securing a significant lead in the initial round of the snap legislative election. If this trend continues in the second round on Sunday, the party could potentially claim anything between 230 and 280 seats in the National Assembly.
That’s a significant increase from the 89 it had before the chamber was dissolved on June 9, although it may still not be sufficient to reach an absolute majority, which requires 289 seats.
Based on an Ipsos poll, RN is expected to secure about 33.2% of the national vote. This puts them five points ahead of the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) alliance and a substantial 12 points ahead of the centrist Ensemble coalition led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
In constituencies where more than two candidates qualified for the second round by receiving over 12.5% of the vote (approximately 250 seats according to the Ipsos pollster), left-wing parties have announced that they will withdraw third-place candidates to prevent splitting the anti-RN vote.