The controversy centers on a report alleging that Bardella shared private messages containing antisemitic rhetoric between 2013 and 2015. Mediapart stated that it obtained and independently verified dozens of messages depicting a pattern of such language. Among the cited examples is a message in which Bardella allegedly claimed that “all the banks are owned by Jews,” and another in which he supposedly stated that “the Jew must dominate other peoples, crush them, and rob them.” The outlet indicated that these comments were made primarily in 2013, when Bardella was 17 and had recently joined the National Rally.
In a statement on social media, Bardella disputed the authenticity of the documents, arguing that the “activist press” is orchestrating “smear operations” to destabilize the RN’s presidential campaign. “At a time when the victory of our ideas has never been so close,” Bardella wrote, he claimed the publication was attempting to “attack my honor.” He added that since entering politics, he has maintained a clear stance against antisemitism and referenced a meeting with the Israeli government in 2025 as evidence of his position.
The exchange occurred shortly after the National Rally secured a record 14 seats in the French Senate, a result that confirms the party’s growing influence in the upper house and its strong prospects ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for early next year. Bardella is widely expected to become prime minister should Le Pen win the presidency. During a visit to a construction industry event on Monday, Le Pen dismissed the Mediapart report as “insanity,” aligning herself with the party’s defense of its leader.
The allegations carry significant weight given the National Rally’s complex history regarding antisemitism. The party’s predecessor, the National Front, was founded in part by Nazi collaborators. Marine Le Pen’s father and former party chief, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was repeatedly convicted of hate speech for downplaying the Holocaust. Since taking over leadership in 2011, Marine Le Pen has attempted to distance the party from its most extreme elements, including expelling her father in 2015 in an effort to absolve the organization of antisemitic accusations.
Bardella’s own relationship with this legacy has not been without controversy. In 2023, he sparked public debate by denying that Jean-Marie Le Pen was an antisemite, a statement he later corrected a few days after its initial release. The current dispute tests the resilience of the party’s strategy to modernize its image and appeal to a broad electorate, including young voters and those from working-class suburbs.
Legal proceedings are now anticipated as Bardella’s representatives move to challenge the publication of the messages. The outcome of this legal and political battle could influence public perception of the National Rally’s leadership as the campaign for the next French presidency intensifies. For now, the party maintains that the evidence presented is fabricated, while Mediapart stands by its verification of the correspondence.
