Jordan Bardella: the Pied Piper of the French far-right

Hours after Emmanuel Macron and his centrist Renaissance party suffered a "calamitous result" in the European elections, the French president surprised even political insiders by calling a snap parliamentary election, said Sky News.

French voters will have their say in two rounds of voting, on 30 June and 7 July, said the broadcaster. Although Macron's job is safe, with the next presidential election not due until 2027, the parliamentary poll will determine France's next prime minister. 

Enter Jordan Bardella, president of France's far-right National Rally party (which secured more than double Renaissance's vote share in the European elections) and the party's confirmed prime ministerial candidate. With France's centrists on the back foot, the "mild-mannered, impeccably dressed" 28-year-old has vowed to "upend the politics of the country to save it from 'disappearance'", said The New York Times. 

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And while the "clean-cut, strong-jawed TikTok star" may seem an unlikely "insurgent", he increasingly appears to be the acceptable face of the far-right to France's youngest voters.

'Boy from the banlieues'

Bardella has previously spoken about his modest background, growing up in a "drab tower block" in "crime-ridden" Seine-Saint-Denis near Paris, said France 24. 

Joining National Rally (then known as the National Front) at the age of 17, the "boy from the banlieues", or suburbs, quickly rose through the ranks, guided by party leader Marine Le Pen, said The Times. She had "spotted his potential" to rebrand National Rally as it attempted to distance itself from the "extreme views" expounded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the party's founder.

Marine Le Pen has dominated French far-right politics for years, with Bardella as her "cherished disciple", said The New York Times. But while this "prodigal son" is assisting in shaping the party's more palatable image, there are concerns "the wunderkind will eclipse his maker". 

'Not shy'

Although Bardella has been at the forefront of the push to "recast National Rally as a more moderate force", said the Daily Express, he is "not shy" to emphasise the party's talking points on  "rampant Islamism and drug-related crime".

Talk of leaving the European Union, or "Frexit", which once defined National Rally, is now "history" under Bardella, said The Times. Despite his Euroscepticism, the young politician insisted "you don't walk away from the game when you're winning". But the party's "wish list" includes opposing increased EU integration, and the desire to "water down Brussels's 'green deal' environmental policies", the paper added. 

Bardella has also "formulated a political identity independent of Le Pen's", said The New Statesman. Perhaps most notable is his belief in the "Great Replacement", a conspiracy theory that "elites are engineering a replacement of Europe's white population with immigrants from Africa and the Middle East".

'Rockstar'

In contemporary Europe, young people "traditionally put up strong resistance to far-right ideas", said Le Monde. However, Bardella's "ideal son-in-law looks, muscular build and interview catchphrases" appear to have cut through to a restless generation that other French politicians have been unable to reach.

These young people "feel neglected by the state and political leaders". With the rise of Bardella, many express "the hope of finally being considered for what they are and what they do".

The most inroads appear to have been made on social media, where Bardella "has one of the biggest TikTok followings in French politics", said The Guardian. Appearing in public, his "rockstar" image means he is often "jostled by crowds" looking for an autograph and can be seen "flashing his well-rehearsed smile" as he poses for selfies with teenage fans. 

With pollsters recently reporting that about a third of young people are relying on TikTok to follow the election campaign, some say this could be Bardella's best chance of success. Indeed, he is often accused of "spending too much time honing his public image" rather than focusing on "important political issues", said France 24. 

Elsewhere, he has also been painted as "an 'arrogant' pro-Russia isolationist", due to the National Rally accepting a subsequently repaid "€6 million loan" from a Russian company, said Politico. But with the party appearing to go from strength to strength, the criticism so far "isn't working".