Bardella Launches Libel Lawsuit Over Alleged 2013 Antisemitic Quotes

Tue Sep 29 2026 15:54:25 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

French hard‑right leader Jordan Bardella says he will sue for libel after Mediapart released alleged antisemitic remarks he supposedly made as a 17‑year‑old.

The National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella is suing the French left‑wing site Mediapart after it published alleged antisemitic statements he allegedly made in 2013. The claims, which include stereotypes about Jews controlling banks, were said to come from a series of private text conversations that Mediapart says it authenticated with witness statements. Bardella said the accusations are false and part of an attempt to derail his and Marine Le Pen’s campaign ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Le Pen expressed confidence in Bardella, while left‑wing politicians called for his resignation. Meanwhile, RN has been working to distance itself from its far‑right roots, and its support in polls is seen as a key indicator of Le Pen’s chances in the upcoming run‑off.

Reporting from Paris, Jordan Bardella – 31, president of the hard‑right National Rally (RN) – has announced plans to sue the French left‑wing website Mediapart for libel after it released a series of alleged antisemitic remarks he supposedly made when he was 17‑18 in 2013.

Mediapart said it had spent several months investigating dozens of private text conversations and that it had “independently authenticated” the documents, citing a larger documentary base corroborated by witness statements. However, the site did not publish any screen captures of the alleged messages.

Bardella condemned the claims as a “beginning of a total war” aimed at destabilising his party and said that either Mediapart is running the operation itself or it is being manipulated by interested parties. He told French TV channel CNews that he had instructed his lawyer to pursue a lawsuit for defamation.

Marine Le Pen, the RN’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election, said the remarks “seem so weird that they can only be a forgery – one of those dirty tricks for which Mediapart appears to hold the secret.”

Among the alleged comments cited by Mediapart were statements such as: “All banks are owned by Jews”; “The Jew has to dominate other people, crush them and rob them”; and “What they want is a new world order dominated by Israel, with of course Jerusalem as its capital.”

The RN, which has launched a campaign to distance itself from the far‑right’s antisemitic roots, has recorded gains in polls now that the presidential campaign is in its final seven months. A recent Toluna‑Harris poll shows Le Pen ahead of her political rivals, with 35‑36% of the vote in the first round and a projected 69% against left‑wing candidate Jean‑Luc Mélenchon in the run‑off.

Despite the party’s rebranding, vaguenesses around the alleged statements have reignited debates. Left‑wing politicians have called for Bardella to step down, and the chief of the Jewish umbrella organisation Crif said the comments “illustrate the limits of the RN's clean‑up act.”

In contrast, RN deputy Jean‑Philippe Tanguy said the sources of the allegations were expelled former members of the party whose antisemitic views were purged under Le Pen’s leadership. He warned that these disgruntled elements “have always had it in for us.”

The legal case is set to unfold in advance of the election, adding another flare to the heated debate over France’s political direction and the future role of the National Rally on the national stage.