Marine Le Pen backs Jordan Bardella with 1000% confidence over 2013 antisemitic messages

Le Pen backs party president

Marine Le Pen publicly reaffirmed full confidence in National Rally (RN) president Jordan Bardella on Wednesday, 7 October 2026, rejecting reports that attribute antisemitic messages to him. Speaking during a visit to the Sommet de l'élevage agricultural fair near Clermont-Ferrand, the RN presidential candidate dismissed the reporting from investigative website Mediapart as an underhand maneuver. Le Pen had previously characterized the investigation as political sabotage and pledged to dismantle the allegations against Bardella, whom she intends to appoint as prime minister in the event of an election victory.

I am absolutely certain that we are facing an infamous maneuver on the part of Mediapart and I maintain totally, one thousand percent, my confidence in Jordan Bardella.

Bardella denies authorship and files lawsuits

The controversy began with a Mediapart investigation published on 28 September 2026, which attributed antisemitic writings from 2013 to Bardella. The 31-year-old party president denied the allegations in their entirety and filed a defamation lawsuit, while announcing plans for a second legal complaint alleging forgery and the use of forged documents. At a press conference held on Tuesday at RN headquarters to present the budget platform for Le Pen's presidential campaign, Bardella confronted Mediapart journalists and rejected the authenticity of the records.

I formally contest your accusations. I contest your evidence and I contest your sources.

Bardella also addressed a follow-up report published on Thursday that cited Facebook message data extracted by Meta on 16 August 2026 and certified by a bailiff on 29 September. He stated that he does not maintain an active personal Facebook account and could not request message archives, explaining that his public page is operated by party communications staff.

Clashes over witnesses and investigative reporters

During Tuesday's party press conference, Bardella accused the investigative reporters of manipulating a former acquaintance who had spoken to the media outlet Les Incorrectibles. Mediapart maintained that the individual was not the original source of the leak and confirmed that the quoted remarks were accurate. Bardella also leveled accusations against Mediapart investigative reporter Antton Rouget, citing past legal proceedings over a war memorial and alleging youth participation in an organization banned in Spain.

I imagine you would have loved to see me take a knee, but that is misunderstanding me very badly.

Party history and opinion research

The scrutiny over the 2013 messages follows broader attention on the RN's institutional history, including its founding in 1972 by former Waffen-SS members and neo-Nazi sympathizers. Annual surveys conducted by the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) have measured antisemitic prejudice among RN supporters over consecutive years. The measured rate among RN sympathizers stood at 54% in 2023, rose to 55% in 2024, and dropped to 48% in 2025.

Attention has also turned to past associations between party leadership and the far-right student group Groupe Union Défense (GUD), which operated from 1968 to 2024, as well as Bardella's previous tenure leading the party's departmental federation in Seine-Saint-Denis.