"""

Bardella denies Mediapart report

Jordan Bardella has rejected antisemitism allegations following a report by French investigative outlet Mediapart based on private messages dating back nearly 10 years. The 31-year-old politician, who leads the far-right National Rally (Rassemblement National-RN) in France, said on social media that the accusations do not reflect the truth.

In his post, Bardella described the claims as “blatant fabrications.”

The report said dozens of private messages sent between 2013 and 2015 were reviewed and that the exchanges showed a pattern of antisemitic rhetoric. Mediapart said it independently verified the messages and also relied on accounts from some former party members.

Claims in the report and the legal process

What did Mediapart highlight?

  • The exchanges were said to date from the 2013-2015 period, when Bardella was reportedly still a minor.
  • The messages were alleged to include hate-filled references to Jews and, in one exchange, an antisemitic generalization about banks.

Bardella said the report was a smear campaign aimed at weakening RN’s presidential bid. He said he had instructed his lawyer to pursue all necessary legal avenues.

Bardella also said he has never been ambiguous about his fight against antisemitism since entering politics. In his defense, he also recalled that he was accepted by the Israeli government in 2025.

RN’s image battle and election timetable

The allegations emerged just after RN won a record number of seats in the Senate, taking 14 seats. The result came as the party was seen in a strong position ahead of next year’s presidential election.

Bardella, a close ally of Marine Le Pen, had been described as the party’s de facto presidential candidate until July. That role, however, became uncertain again after an appeals court cleared the way for Le Pen’s candidacy.

The party, founded as the National Front and renamed National Rally in 2018, has long sought to distance itself from its racist and antisemitic past. In the 2024 legislative elections, antisemitic, Islamophobic and racist remarks by some candidates hurt the party’s bid for a majority, and Bardella said such figures would be systematically pushed out.

Marine Le Pen also described the report as fake and manipulative, saying she expected Bardella to file a defamation lawsuit soon. In recent years, Le Pen has also stressed softening the party’s image and building closer ties with Israel.

"""