French hard-right leader accuses opponents of 'total war' after claims of antisemitism

What the report says

Jordan Bardella, president of France’s hard-right National Rally (RN), has said he will take legal action over allegations that he made antisemitic comments as a teenager. The claims were published by the investigative site Mediapart, which said they were based on months of research into old online conversations from 2013. Bardella and RN leader Marine Le Pen rejected the accusations, describing them as a deliberate attempt to damage the party ahead of France’s next presidential race.

According to the BBC’s report, Mediapart said the remarks included overtly antisemitic language, while Bardella said the material was fabricated. He told French television that the allegations were part of a wider effort to destabilise the RN’s campaign and said he had instructed his lawyer to sue for libel. Le Pen also defended him, saying the claims appeared so implausible that they must be forged.

The dispute comes as the RN remains strong in opinion polls and is trying to present itself as more broadly acceptable than in the past. The party has spent years distancing itself from the antisemitic legacy associated with France’s far right, while emphasizing opposition to militant Islam and support for Jewish communities. The latest row matters because Bardella is one of the RN’s most prominent figures and is widely seen as a possible future prime minister if Le Pen wins the presidency.