Bardella Denies Antisemitic Messages From 2013 as Le Pen Faces Campaign Fallout

Investigative outlet Mediapart published private messages Monday allegedly written by Jordan Bardella between 2013 and 2015, when he was a teenager and new member of the National Front. The messages reportedly include statements that "the Jew must dominate other peoples, crush them and rob them" and that "all banks are held by Jews."

Bardella, now 31 and president of the National Rally, categorically denied the authenticity of the messages and announced a defamation lawsuit against Mediapart. He described the report as an attempt to destabilize his party's campaign for the 2027 presidential election, where Marine Le Pen leads polling.

“The system will do anything — including the most disgusting things — to try to hinder this momentum”

Marine Le Pen defended Bardella at a press conference Tuesday, framing the allegations as part of a systemic effort to block her path to the presidency. The scandal threatens the party's years-long detoxification strategy, which relied on Bardella's youth and distance from the National Front's antisemitic past under founder Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Mediapart stated it independently verified the authenticity of the conversations but did not publish screenshots. The messages also allegedly express support for comedian Dieudonné, who had been convicted of hate speech, and target figures such as Bernard-Henri Lévy, Jacques Attali, and former minister Pierre Moscovici.