The Japan Times - Future of French far-right star in balance after antisemitism claims

Just a week ago, all was looking rosy for Bardella, with polls predicting Le Pen is on course to win the presidency at the fourth attempt, and the young leader of her National Rally (RN) party subsequently set to take the job of prime minister.

But then came the bombshell allegations published on Monday by the Mediapart website, which accused Bardella of writing a string of antisemitic messages in 2013. On Thursday, it posted screenshots of the messages written on Facebook Messenger.

Bardella chose a strategy of all-out attack to deny the allegations, accusing his opponents of launching a "total war" to derail the RN's rise to the presidency and vowing to take Mediapart to court for publishing what he described as fakes.

Le Pen, addressing party MPs side-by-side with Bardella on Tuesday, echoed his denial.

But she fell into an uncharacteristic silence after the screenshots were published on Thursday, broken only by a brief comment of "I have complete confidence in Jordan" to La Tribune Dimanche newspaper this weekend.

According to the report, Bardella wrote, among other comments, in a chat: "The Jew has to dominate other peoples, crush them, and rob them; a Zionist is necessarily a Jew, and fundamentally so."

- 'Pull the plug' on Bardella? -

Bardella's defiance indicated that he hopes to ride out the crisis, with his future depending on whether Mediapart has more allegations in the pipeline and above all, Le Pen herself.

He has been instrumental in implementing her strategy of "de-demonisation" to try and rid the party of the toxic legacy of its founder, her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was openly antisemitic.

Bardella made an unprecedented visit to Israel in 2025, the first by a French far-right leader, in a bid to demonstrate the RN's new credentials.

He was invited by Amichai Chikli, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government, who has cultivated ties with several European far-right parties despite their history of antisemitism.

"Marine Le Pen had to back Jordan Bardella so as not to alienate voters who would not forgive her for abandoning him," said sociologist Erwan Lecoeur, a specialist on the far right.

But he added: "My belief is that Marine Le Pen will pull the plug on" Bardella, arguing that the more Bardella defends himself "the deeper he digs himself into a hole -- taking the RN down with him".

The allegations also surfaced after months of reports of tensions between Bardella and Le Pen -- notably over a policy to ban the Muslim headscarf in public -- even though the tandem maintained an outward united front.

"I don't think she necessarily has to get rid of him," said Marta Lorimer, lecturer in politics at Cardiff University.

"They will try to use whatever they can to defend his position," she told AFP.

"But my suspicion is if we see Bardella ousted it is not going to be because of this but because of possibly broader tensions with Le Pen. For the time being that does not seem to be the case."

- 'Contaminate the candidate' -

There have also been suggestions that some in the RN would like to see Bardella exit and be replaced as Le Pens' de-facto running mate by another figure such as Eric Ciotti, the leader of an allied far-right party, or her niece Marion Marechal, who leads her own extreme-right movement.

Murmurs have also echoed on social media that the allegations could have come from within the RN, sparking a furious hunt for the "taupe" (mole).

Bardella has acknowledged what is at stake, saying that the aim is to "kill my political career".

His strategy of flat-out denial has also left him open to accusations of lying.

"Do we want a prime minister who is not only antisemitic but also lies to the French people in the face of damning evidence?" asked Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Socialist leader Olivier Faure said: "We are dealing with two things here -- his antisemitism and lying in politics. Neither is forgivable."

But with the RN lining up to back Bardella, Le Monde daily warned this had risks for Le Pen herself.

"The RN is closing ranks... in the hope that the storm will pass, at the risk of seeing the discredit attached to Jordan Bardella contaminate the presidential candidate," it said.

Y.Watanabe--JT