The photo that shows who's really on top in Le Pen's party
Jordan Bardella, the National Rally’s 30‑year–old president, stood at the front of a rally in La Flèche with a subdued expression as reporters asked whether he was relieved that he would not lead the party’s 2027 presidential campaign. He answered that he was glad Marine Le Pen could represent them, and that they would work together hand‑in‑hand.
The following evening, Le Pen declared she would run for president next year and that Bardella would be her deputy on a joint ticket. Le Pen’s earlier ban on holding public office was lifted by a Paris court, and she was ordered to wear an electronic tag for a year. She therefore said that she would be president and Bardella would be prime minister if elected, a move that would still need a parliamentary election before 2029.
Bardella, who has risen from a local departmental secretary to the party’s top post at age 27, has long asserted that his only ambition was to support Le Pen and not to pursue his own candidacy if she was barred by a court verdict. The speed at which his political trajectory has escalated has now slowed, and his future depends on electoral outcomes and the National Rally’s internal negotiations.
He announced his support for Le Pen’s candidacy during a televised address at the Rassemblement National’s European Parliament session. Bardella, who has positions on immigration, the EU, and NATO, remains a prominent figure for the party’s younger voters, relying on social media to project a modest background while maintaining ties with an Italian socialite and distant relatives of former leaders.
In 2024, Bardella’s 33‑percent share in the first round of snap parliamentary elections left him in line for a prime ministerial appointment, though an eventual centre‑left alliance prevented that. In 2026, his popularity stayed near 40%, while Le Pen’s remained steady at 39%.
Bardella’s comments on potentially leaving France from NATO’s integrated command and his critique of the Macron proposal to extend France’s nuclear deterrence to allies reflect his interest in aligning with other nationalist right governments. He distances himself from the U.S. president and calls Trump “erratic.”
With Le Pen’s eventual reinstatement, the National Rally’s leadership is in a state of waiting, and Bardella has expressed calm readiness for the outcome. The political future of the far‑right party remains uncertain, as Bardella await their next step in the elections.
