Who is Jordan Bardella? This 28-year-old far-right French politician

Hairstyled to the millimeter, a smile like a toothpaste ad, an impeccable dark suit that fits like a glove, and the son of an Italian immigrant. Jordan Bardella, at just 28 years old, has once again been the great winner of elections that bring him closer to the head of government.,

Bardella, who topped the list in the European elections on June 9 – the very ones that triggered early elections for the National Assembly -, He led the National Agrupación (RN) by winning 34% of the vote in the first round (with 63% counted). And thus the door to an absolute majority in the second round on July 7 will open.

An Italian-born man who grew up in France’s most immigrant-dominated department is the politician of the moment And one that could impose a complex cohabitation on French President Emmanuel Macron that will be scrutinized all over the world.

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Editorial/Effie

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Editorial/Effie

With the election lead held by Macron, Marine Le Pen’s Dolphin has managed to speed up the moderation process of the Le Penist extreme rightMarine’s controversial father has been associated for decades with Jean-Marie Le Pen, who was convicted by a French judge of racism and anti-Semitism.

The young Bardella, “looks like he came from a communications agency” -as former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told EFE-, Speaks in public and argues with civility, without being noisy or saying one word louder than anotherBusting the myth that terrorists shout and are aggressive to show that they are right.

Favorites to occupy the Matignon castle (seat of government) Dedicated to politics since his teenage years, his career has been full of ups and downs.Because he has almost no work experience in the private sector and never completed his higher education.

The son of an Italian from Turin who moved to France and a Frenchman of Italian and Algerian descent, Bardella claims in his biography to be intimately aware of the immigration problems his party constantly denounces. Grew up in Seine-Saint-Denis.

“Land of Islam”

This department bordering Paris is the one in France with the largest number of foreigners – most of them from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. Bardella grew up in the city of Saint-Denis, in the social housing neighborhood of Gabriel Péri,

The autobiography he is preparing describes the place where he grew up as France’s most capable politician “The land of Islam, where crime and smuggling are rampant”,

“Because of what I have seen there, I dedicate myself to politics, so that the whole of France does not become my old neighborhood. “What was happening there was not normal,” he says.

Bardella – an only child – also likes to talk about the cost it cost his mother, who was separated from his father, to make ends meet. However, People familiar with the politician’s history accuse the young man of dramatizing his childhood and adolescence,

He was with his mother during the week.which enrolled them in private schools, away from some of the problems that existed in the public centers of Saint-Denis. and he spent the weekend with his fatherWho was a small businessman living in a wealthy area of ​​the Paris region.

Membership at age 17

a reasonable teenager, with good grades but not exceptional, He joined the then National Front (FN) in 2012, when he was 17 years old.Seduced – he says – more by Marine Le Pen than by his father Jean-Marie, founder of the movement he recently took over.

Bardella, who He never completed his degree in geography at the University of Paris IV-Sorbonna, he seduced the leaders of the FN for his history in the ‘banlieues’ and, in 2014, he was appointed departmental secretary of the party in Seine-Saint-Denis, where the far-right has a minor presence.

A year later, he became assistant to MEP Jean-François Jalakh. That same 2015, and without turning 20, He held his first public office as a councillor for the Île-de-France region. After failing to be elected deputy in the 2017 legislative elections, he became vice-president of the renamed national group.

In 2019, he led the RN list for the 2019 European Championshipswith a narrow victory over the Macronist candidacy. In 2020, he began a relationship with Nolwenn Olivier, the granddaughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen.

He was criticised by his opponents for his frequent absences from European Parliament proceedings. A recent report on French public television also prompted Bardella to come forward Which revealed his closeness to the ideas of Jean-Marien Le Pen.

He achieved a major milestone when he was elected president of the RN on Marine Le Pen’s proposal at the end of 2022. The relationship between the two has been a matter of debate, since, despite the appearance of cordiality, Some media outlets have pointed to Marine Le Pen’s discomfort with her protégé’s excessive fame.,