A bombshell report from French investigative outlet Mediapart has thrown France’s main far-right political party, the National Rally (RN), into deep chaos, after it published explosive allegations that RN president Jordan Bardella made virulently antisemitic statements in private messages exchanged between 2013 and 2015.
The scandal erupted on Monday, putting 31-year-old Bardella’s rising political career on the line just two years before France’s 2027 presidential election, where the RN is widely seen as a leading contender. When the earliest reported messages were sent, Bardella was a 17-year-old new recruit to the party, then led by current RN figurehead Marine Le Pen.
According to Mediapart’s investigation, the leaked private exchanges show Bardella endorsing a web of dangerous antisemitic conspiracy theories that claim Jewish people control global finance, the French government, and are pushing for a so-called “new world order” dominated by Israel. The outlet documented explicit and extreme claims attributed to Bardella: that “all banks are owned by Jews,” that Jewish people seek to “dominate other peoples, crush them and rob them,” and that key French public intellectuals, including Bernard-Henri Levy and Jacques Attali, are part of this alleged plot. Bardella also reportedly claimed that three ministers in then-President François Hollande’s Socialist government prioritized Israeli and banking interests over the needs of the French people.
Mediapart confirmed that it has verified the authenticity of the private exchanges but has chosen not to release the full messages publicly. The outlet also noted that Bardella held an “obsession with the supposed Judeo-Zionist control of [France].” The investigation further included testimony from Laurent Nunez, the former head of the far-right National Front Youth branch in Seine-Saint-Denis, who knew Bardella through local party organizing between 2013 and 2014. Nunez claimed Bardella expressed open interest in conspiracy theories claiming Adolf Hitler survived World War II.
Notably, the allegations stand in stark contrast to the public image Bardella has carefully cultivated in recent years. As the face of the RN’s efforts to rebrand the party, soften its historical extremism and win support among younger voters, Bardella has deliberately positioned himself as a vocal ally of Israel, even paying a formal public homage to the country during a 2025 visit and repeatedly speaking out against rising antisemitism across France. He has also publicly opposed the creation of an independent Palestinian state and backed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. This shift toward pro-Israel rhetoric aligns with a broader strategic choice by far-right parties across Europe: courting Israeli support to improve their international image while doubling down on anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has openly called for increased European political engagement with far-right parties in recent years, amid shifting global attitudes toward the Israeli government.
Bernard-Henri Levy, one of the French public figures named in the alleged messages, is a controversial figure in French politics who has openly defended Israel’s military campaign and siege of Gaza, and has long been a vocal critic of Bardella and the RN.
Bardella has issued a categorical denial of all the allegations, framing the report as a politically motivated attack designed to sink Le Pen’s 2027 presidential bid. “This is a total war against us,” he claimed of the investigation. Marine Le Pen, the RN’s 2027 presidential candidate and former party leader, has thrown her full support behind Bardella, saying she has “total confidence” in her political ally. Le Pen, whose father Jean-Marie Le Pen founded the party (originally named the National Front) and was infamous for his own history of antisemitic remarks, warned that political opponents would use “absolutely anything – including the most disgusting things” to halt the RN’s growing electoral momentum. With incumbent President Emmanuel Macron ineligible to run again, Le Pen is currently ranked as one of the frontrunners in the 2027 race.