Who really is Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old far-right French politician?

euronews (in English)

Bardella’s journey from university drop-out to potential prime minister has astonished many, highlighting his meteoric rise in just a few years. Banking on a compelling rags-to-riches story, the reality is far more nuanced.

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00:00Jordan Bardella's journey has astonished many, highlighting his meteoric rise to potential

00:06prime minister in just a few years.

00:09The far-right leader was born in 1995 in the Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis in a

00:14low-income housing complex to a single mother.

00:18The young political prodigy has painted the image of a survivor of a rough suburb plagued

00:23by drugs and radical Islam.

00:25The reality, however, is far more nuanced.

00:55Jordan Bardella's involvement in politics started at 16 when he joined the National

01:05Rally.

01:06A few years later, Bardella dropped out of university to join the party full-time.

01:12He served consecutively as a regional councillor, spokesperson and vice-president of the party

01:17before leading the National Rally's list in the 2019 European elections at just 23

01:23years old.

01:25In November 2022, he was elected successor of Marine Le Pen as the president of the far-right

01:31party.

01:33Bardella is the first person to lead the National Rally party who is not a member of the Le

01:37Pen family.

01:38He is currently an MEP and is favoured to become France's prime minister if his party

01:44wins an absolute majority in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

01:49But critics accuse him of spending too much time cultivating his public image at the expense

01:54of delving into crucial political matters.

02:14The National Rally is currently leading the polls for the French legislative elections

02:37by 36% of voting intentions.

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