Still the Same Far-right? Le Pen's National Rally Denies Fresh Antisemitism Claims • FRANCE 24

Sep 30, 2026 | Minor bump on the French far-right’s road to power—or a car crash that wipes out years of rebranding? Bombshell allegations of past antisemitic tropes by the man Marine Le Pen has touted as her future prime minister could test her years-long effort to convince French voters that the National Rally is a party of government, rather than the fringe far-right National Front of old.

We’ll examine the evidence and hear the denial from 31-year-old Jordan Bardella. We’ll also chart his rise: groomed as an eventual stand-in for the presidential frontrunner after an appeals court allowed Le Pen to run despite her corruption conviction. And we’ll ask how the accusations land for a party that, since the October 7 attacks against Israel, has sought to portray itself as a rampart defending France’s Jewish community against antisemitism.

Le Pen’s gut reaction was to blast the report by investigative news site Mediapart as a plot, a conspiracy. We happen to live in an age when conspiracy theories flow freely—including, of course, the conspiracy theory that Jews secretly run the world. So, in the end, what could these allegations mean for Marine Le Pen’s prospects in 2027?

France’s Far-right National Rally Elects New President to Replace Le Pen

THE GUARDIAN: ordan Bardella, 27, who joined the party as a teenager and is a protege of Marine Le Pen, replaces her as leader

Jordan Bardella, newly-elected president of the RN party, holds the hand of Marine Le Pen after the results during the National Rally party's Congress in Paris, France. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters
France’s far-right National Rally (RN) has elected a 27-year-old from the Paris banlieue who joined the party as a teenager as its new president to replace Marine Le Pen.

The result means that for the first time since the party – originally the National Front – was created in 1972, it will not be run by a Le Pen.

Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s protege, who has been caretaker president for a year, beat Louis Aliot, 53, the mayor of Perpignan, a party heavyweight as well as Le Pen’s former partner, by 85% to 15% of party members who voted.

There were cheers and a standing ovation as Le Pen announced the result. The handover comes at a tense time for the RN after one of its MPs was suspended from parliament for a racist outburst last week. » | Kim Willsher in Paris | Saturday, November 5, 2022

Marine Le Pen passe la main à Jordan Bardella pour diriger le Rassemblement national : L’eurodéputé, qui assure l’intérim de la présidence du RN depuis un an, a obtenu 84,84 % des suffrages lors du vote qui s’est déroulé dans la matinée. »

Politischer Ziehsohn von Le Pen wird neuer Parteichef : Er ist jung, stramm rechtsnational und binnen kürzester Zeit aufgestiegen: Jordan Bardella übernimmt den Vorsitz des Rassemblement National. Die größte Herausforderung erwartet ihn in der Provinz. »