RN and LFI face deep internal contradictions as far-right pressure mounts

Within days of the upcoming presidential election, the French political scene has hardened as the RN confronts a controversy over Jordan Bardella’s alleged antisemitic comments made when he was 17 or 18 and active in the Front national in Seine-Saint-Denis. Mediapart published documents that purportedly show Bardella repeating extremist slogans from the 1930s. Instead of offering a youthful-error excuse, the RN’s president, Marine Le Pen, publicly defended him and attacked critics, refusing to create a cordon sanitaire.

This defensive posture has revived old far-right rhetoric and exposed deep strategic rifts within the party, eroding the “de-radicalisation” narrative it had tried to promote. The episode also reflects broader challenges for LFI, which faces its own internal contradictions. Overall, the scandal illustrates how extremist pressures are reshaping the political agenda just months before the election.