London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

French National Rally has new leader Bardella to replace Le Pen

French National Rally has new leader Bardella to replace Le Pen

France’s far-right National Rally (RN) has confirmed 27-year-old Jordan Bardella as the replacement as party leader for Marine Le Pen.
Le Pen will focus instead on leading the party’s group in parliament, after it took 89 seats in the National Assembly earlier this year.

It marks the first time in its 50-year history that the RN has not been led by a member of the Le Pen family.

But the move does not mark a major change in direction for the party.

Marine Le Pen remains the source of real power and she is still the likely candidate in the next presidential election in 2027.

She told the party on Saturday that she was not disappearing from politics.

“I am not leaving RN to take a holiday. I will be there where the country needs me,” she said at the party convention.

Brought up in a poor family of Italian origin in the Paris suburbs, Bardella joined the far-right as a teenager and rose quickly to the top of the party, becoming its acting president last year.

He ran the RN’s successful 2019 European election campaign, and has since impressed even his enemies with his assertiveness in debates.

He is seen as loyal to Le Pen, telling AFP news agency recently that he is a “continuity candidate with the aim of building on the incredible legacy that Marine is handing over”.

His elevation to the party’s senior leadership is part of the RN’s efforts to soften its image and attract younger voters.

Like Le Pen he likes to portray himself as a new type of nationalist who has little in common with the racism and anti-Semitism of the party’s predecessor, the National Front.

However, critics say that these sentiments still exist within the party.

In the most recent controversy, a RN lawmaker was suspended for two weeks from the National Assembly for making an allegedly racist remark while a black member of parliament was speaking.

Le Pen stepped down as leader of the party last year so she could focus on her presidential bid, which she eventually lost in April in a run-off to President Emmanuel Macron.

Despite the defeat, she fronted the party’s parliamentary election campaign two months later in which the RN won 89 seats — a 10-fold rise and the party’s best-ever showing.

The success of the far-right and the left in those elections led to President Macron’s party losing its majority.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×