Le Pen and National Rally Rally Behind Bardella Amid Antisemitism Claims

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, her National Rally party and its allies presented a united front on Tuesday behind her running mate in next year's presidential election, Jordan Bardella, after media accusations that he made antisemitic remarks as a young party member.

Bardella, 31, whom Le Pen has said would serve as prime minister if she wins the presidency in May, denied authoring the comments about supposed Jewish banking monopolies and other antisemitic conspiracy theories. The investigative website Mediapart attributed the remarks to him and published them on Monday, saying they were written more than a decade ago, including during years when Bardella was a teenage member of the party's predecessor, the National Front.

That party was founded by Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who repeatedly denied the Holocaust and was convicted multiple times of hate speech before his death in 2025. Allegations of antisemitism strike a particular nerve at the National Rally because Le Pen has spent years trying to distance herself from her father's legacy. His associations with collaborators of France's Nazi occupiers during World War II and his convictions for antisemitism, discrimination and inciting racial violence made him anathema to many voters and blocked his own presidential ambitions.

Sitting side by side, Le Pen, Bardella and their ally Eric Ciotti used a previously scheduled gathering of their lawmakers to demonstrate unity. They described the allegations as the opening salvo of an effort to undermine the National Rally and Le Pen as she campaigns to succeed President Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

Bardella called the claims "the beginnings of an all-out war, of attempts to destabilize the presidential campaign," adding that the party would be targeted repeatedly. Le Pen said the two had "put on our Kevlar suits" and dismissed the allegations as crude manipulation. She expressed "absolute confidence" in Bardella, who is popular with young voters and has large social media followings, drawing applause from their lawmakers.

Mediapart said the comments were drawn from private written exchanges but did not specify their format. It said it independently authenticated the exchanges without detailing how or how it obtained them. The outlet, which specializes in investigative journalism, has become a leading news provider in France since its launch in 2008, claiming more than a quarter-million subscribers.

Bardella said he has launched a libel action against Mediapart, describing the allegations as "a dirty-tricks operation" and telling broadcaster CNews that the remarks were "completely delusional" and not his. He also alleged the claims were concocted to thwart his chances had he replaced Le Pen as the party's candidate.

At this early stage before the two-round election in April and May, Le Pen is widely regarded as a front-runner to succeed Macron. Her campaign has been relatively free of major bumps since an appeals court in July cleared her path for a fourth run at the presidency, shortening a ban on seeking public office handed down to her for embezzling public funds. Bardella, her protégé, had been waiting in the wings to take her place if the original five-year ban had been upheld.