Jordan Bardella addresses Reform UK conference in English, highlighting Franco-British cooperation
National Rally leader Jordan Bardella delivered an English speech at Reform UK’s gathering, emphasizing tighter ties with the British party and joint immigration control.
During the second day of Reform UK’s three-day conference, National Rally president Jordan Bardella addressed the audience in English, marking a visible deepening of Franco-British political ties. He advocated for enhanced cooperation between French and British law-enforcement agencies to curb the flow of small boats crossing the Channel, and insisted that asylum seekers should be repatriated rather than landed on French shores.
Nigel Farage, who heads Reform UK, followed Bardella’s remarks to conclude the day’s sessions. The two leaders have previously discussed immigration and share a view that nationalist parties across Europe are drawing closer together. Their joint appearance underscores a mutual emphasis on border security and national sovereignty.
Why it matters
The speech signals coordinated nationalist efforts across France and the UK on immigration and border policy.
How the sides frame it
MODERATE AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage warns that the Franco-British pact deepens a far-right alliance that could alienate voters, while right-leaning coverage praises the partnership as a common-sense, sovereignty-focused solution to the small-boat crisis; Centrist coverage sticks to a neutral description of the agreement’s details.
LEFT
The alliance is portrayed as a risky far-right collaboration that may damage Reform’s image and alienate voters.
CENTER
The event is presented as a straightforward bilateral agreement on handling small-boat migration.
RIGHT
The partnership is framed as a constructive, border-security-focused cooperation that brings common-sense solutions.
The left emphasises
- far-right bloc and pan-European connections
- risk of alienating voters and low trust in Reform
- pact to “stop small boats forever”
The right emphasises
- “common sense” praise for Farage
- emphasis on border security and national sovereignty
- critique of Macron’s immigration policy
How this story developed
- Aug 27 Marine Le Pen assures French entrepreneurs her policies pose no threat ahead of debate
- Sep 1 The £4 million gift from Ben Delo, a former BitMEX executive convicted of a U.S. banking-secrecy breach and later pardoned by Donald Trump, accounted for three-quarters of Reform UK’s donations in the last quarter. The party, led by Nigel Farage, raised a total of £5.3 million, less than the £9 million-plus it collected in each of the two prior quarters. No contributions were reported from its other major backer, Christopher Harborne, a British-born crypto entrepreneur now based in Thailand. The British government is set to tighten rules on overseas donors, limiting their gifts to £100,000. Parliamentary officials are probing whether a previously undisclosed £5 million from Harborne to Farage breached declaration rules.
- Sep 3 A Medef‑organized debate with seven presidential hopefuls was held at Roland‑Garros.
- Sep 3 Labour moved to refer Reform UK to police over the alleged foreign‑donation breach.
- Sep 4 Metropolitan Police began assessing the allegations.
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