National Rally’s Jordan Bardella rails at ‘war’ on party after antisemitism claims
President of Marine Le Pen’s far-right party faces calls to resign over comments he allegedly wrote as a teenager
TL;DR
- Jordan Bardella, head of the National Rally (RN), is facing a political crisis due to alleged antisemitic comments made between 2013 and 2015.
- Bardella denies the allegations, stating the report by Mediapart is false and part of a "total war" to damage his party's presidential campaign.
- Political opponents and Jewish organizations have criticized Bardella and questioned the RN's history and efforts to detoxify its image.
- The RN, previously led by Jean-Marie Le Pen, has historical ties to antisemitism, including former members of Nazi-affiliated units and Jean-Marie Le Pen's own convictions for hate speech.
- Marine Le Pen has attempted to rebrand the party, appealing to Jewish voters and expelling her father for repeating antisemitic remarks.