French far-right leader Jordan Bardella faces intense scrutiny after investigative site Mediapart published private messages from 2013-2015 containing severe antisemitic tropes. Bardella and Marine Le Pen dismissed the report as a crude fabrication, launching a defamation lawsuit. While French left-wing politicians demand Bardella's resignation, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli defended him as a strong voice against Hamas, highlighting the National Rally's ongoing efforts to rehabilitate its image.
Support from Israeli minister Amichai Chikli
- ▪Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli defended Jordan Bardella on September 29, 2026, calling him "one of the clearest voices in Europe against Hamas."
- ▪Jordan Bardella made an unprecedented visit to Israel in 2025 at the invitation of Amichai Chikli, who has cultivated ties with European far-right figures.
- ▪Amichai Chikli attacked Mediapart by claiming its co-founder Edwy Plenel supported Palestinian militants involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and that president Carine Fouteau calls Israel a colonial state.
Mediapart's report and allegations
- ▪Mediapart stated it independently authenticated the private messages from 2013-2015 using a documentary base and corroborating witness statements from former National Front party colleagues
- ▪On September 28, 2026, French website Mediapart alleged Jordan Bardella wrote in private messages from 2013-2015 that "all the banks are owned by Jews" and that Jews and Zionists seek to dominate, crush, and rob other peoples.
Jordan Bardella's response and lawsuit
- ▪Jordan Bardella denied the antisemitic allegations made by Mediapart, calling them "crude fabrications" and a smear campaign designed to destabilize the National Rally's presidential campaign
- ▪Jordan Bardella and his spokesperson announced that his lawyer has filed a defamation lawsuit against Mediapart over the published allegations.
Defense from National Rally colleagues
- ▪National Rally presidential candidate Marine Le Pen defended Jordan Bardella on September 28, 2026, calling the Mediapart report a "fake," "manipulation," and "dirty trick."
- ▪National Rally deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy stated that the source of the antisemitic allegations made by Mediapart was disaffected former party members who had been purged years ago for their own antisemitic ideas
Opposition reactions
- ▪On September 29, 2026, Marine Tondelier stated on social media that Jordan Bardella, who presents himself as a defender of Jewish men and women, is actually an obsessive antisemite.
- ▪Marine Tondelier, head of France's Green Party, called on Jordan Bardella to resign from his positions as National Rally chief and member of the European Parliament.
Reactions to National Rally's image cleanup
- ▪Under Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, the National Rally has undertaken a decade-long "de-demonization" campaign to distance itself from the antisemitic legacy of founder Jean-Marie Le Pen.
- ▪Yonathan Arfi, head of the Jewish umbrella organization Crif, stated that the alleged antisemitic comments attributed to Jordan Bardella illustrate the limits of the National Rally's efforts to clean up its image
Debatable claims
- ▪The National Rally has successfully distanced itself from its antisemitic roots
- ▪A politician's teenage comments are relevant to their current fitness for office
- ▪Israel is justified in cultivating ties with European far-right politicians
- ▪Mediapart's report on Jordan Bardella is a politically motivated attack
Story comments
Loading comments…