\n
Jordan Bardella is the new kid on the rightist block – Copyright AFP PATRICK HERTZOG<\/small><\/em><\/p>\nToni CERDA<\/em><\/p>\nFrance\u2019s far-right National Rally is banking on its youthful and charismatic party leader to be a major asset as it scents massive gains in upcoming European elections.<\/p>\n
Jordan Bardella, 28, took over in 2021 as party leader from Marine Le Pen who has been trying to rid the party of the racist and anti-Semitic imprint left by her father and party founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen.<\/p>\n
She is still widely expected to be the party\u2019s candidate in the 2027 presidential elections, her fourth bid for the Elysee, which is widely seen as her best chance to become head of state.<\/p>\n
But since taking over as National Rally (RN) party leader, Bardella has become an increasingly visible presence in French politics, forming an effective tandem with Le Pen, who leads its MPs in parliament.<\/p>\n
A recent election rally in the southwestern coastal city of Royan highlighted the appeal of Bardella, a major presence on the TikTok platform, with adoring fans queueing for selfies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got it, I got it,\u201d shouted a happy young voter, holding up his smartphone, after getting his idol to pose with him for a snapshot.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Not Le Pen\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Bardella has not revolutionised the party\u2019s belief system, experts point out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It still stands against what it says is unacceptable mass immigration, a purported decline of civilisation in France, and \u201ca punitive ecology\u201d that hurts farmers.<\/p>\n
But as he presented the party\u2019s programme for the June EU parliamentary vote, his Royan audience seemed grateful for the freshness he brings.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe represents youth,\u201d said Agnes, in her 60s, withholding her last name. \u201cI never voted for any Le Pen. But there\u2019s been a renewal, and that\u2019s a very good thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne advantage that Jordan Bardella has over Marine Le Pen is that his name is not Le Pen,\u201d agreed Mathieu Gallard, a political scientist at the Ipsos market research and consulting firm.<\/p>\n
Le Pen has laid much of the groundwork for Bardella\u2019s success. She was runner-up in two presidential elections, losing to Emmanuel Macron on both occasions, and won the highest number of seats ever for her party in parliamentary elections in 2022.<\/p>\n
Opinion polls ahead of the June 9 European elections \u2014 seen in France as a key test for the government \u2014 have pointed to a severe drubbing for Macron.<\/p>\n
An Ifop-Fiducial poll this week found that 32.5 percent of voters intend to cast their ballot for the Bardella-led National Rally list, and only 18 percent for Macron\u2019s allies.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018Our saviour\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Bardella is part of an increasingly youthful dynamic in French politics that includes President Emmanuel Macron himself, 46, and his Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, 35, appointed earlier this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is young, ambitious, approachable,\u201d said Louis Vergnaud, 23, dressed in a white Ralph Lauren shirt, of Bardella.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor young people, he represents the future of France. Our saviour,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Bardella\u2019s carefully-communicated life story \u2014 his family immigrated from Italy and he was raised by his mother in a poor suburb of Paris \u2014 adds to the contrast with the former National Front (FN) party that was run by Jean-Marie Le Pen from an imposing chateau in a rich town west of the capital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His rise has not entirely been free of controversy with a French television report alleging earlier this year that he used an anonymous Twitter account to share racist messages when he was a local elected official.<\/p>\n
Bardella vehemently denied the report, broadcast by the France 2 channel, and the RN has said it will take legal action.<\/p>\n
Bardella, considered to be a social conservative but more liberal in economic matters than Le Pen, has found plenty of subtle ways to freshen up the party\u2019s image.<\/p>\n
In an apparent display of new openness, international songs were mixed with French hits before the start of his Royan rally.<\/p>\n
The 1,300 people in the audience that day appeared like a cross-section of Bardella\u2019s diversified voter base: trendy young people mixing with middle-aged and older voters often dressed in shirts or suits.<\/p>\n
The National Rally is now \u201cclearly perceived as being the main opposition party to Emmanuel Macron and his government\u201d, political scientist Gallard said.<\/p>\n
It had also become better at responding to daily voter worries such as dwindling household purchasing power. \u201cJust like a normal opposition party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader
\n
#French #youthful #vibe #28yearold #leader<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jordan Bardella is the new kid on the rightist block – Copyright AFP PATRICK HERTZOG…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[2460,804,578,2459,2458],"yoast_head":"\n
French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader - International Pulse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader - International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jordan Bardella is the new kid on the rightist block – Copyright AFP PATRICK HERTZOG...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-17T21:31:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040\",\"name\":\"French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader - International Pulse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-17T21:31:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-17T21:31:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\",\"name\":\"International Pulse\",\"description\":\"There's a different sound here\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader - International Pulse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader - International Pulse","og_description":"Jordan Bardella is the new kid on the rightist block – Copyright AFP PATRICK HERTZOG...","og_url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040","og_site_name":"International Pulse","article_published_time":"2024-04-17T21:31:01+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040","name":"French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader - International Pulse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-04-17T21:31:01+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-17T21:31:01+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=4040#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"French far right gets youthful vibe with 28-year-old leader"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/","name":"International Pulse","description":"There's a different sound here","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news"],"url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"}]}},"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df.jpg",768,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df.jpg",640,427,false],"large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df.jpg",640,427,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df.jpg",768,512,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df-768x500.jpg",768,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/12a1a4d170c78597400742cdbf516e8f123521df-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}