Laughter spreads across the face of Jordan Bardella, the president of France's National Rally (RN) party, when I raise the supposedly explosive topic of antisemitism. His smile doesn't stem from his party harboring this ancient prejudice, but precisely the opposite – Bardella positions his movement at the forefront of combating it.
"Unfortunately, in France, 1,500 antisemitic acts have been recorded since October 7, the highest number ever. That's why we need to fight it. And this is a cross-border struggle that explains my presence here today at this conference. It's solidarity with the Jewish community and what happened on October 7, and a commitment to fight for its security against the terrorism of radical Islam."
The conference he references, where our meeting takes place, is "Ambassadors of Truth," which convened on Thursday at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem. While established elites in Israel and segments of the Jewish world attempted to discredit the event organized by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli – claiming it hosted figures tainted with antisemitism – the reality proves quite different.
The conference gathered representatives from around the world who fearlessly identified the root of the urgent danger threatening both Jews and the free world: radical Islam. Though it included some controversial figures, all invitees share a record of strong support for Israel.
Bardella stands among the rising stars in French politics. As the number two in Marine Le Pen's party, they continue facing accusations of racism and hatred toward Jews. But Bardella, as mentioned, almost scoffs at such claims. He characterizes the boycotts of the conference and himself as a "political caprice. That is, they are really behaving badly." According to him, within the Jewish community, seven out of ten people support his party.
"The Left doesn't like me"
Several hours later, his reception by the French-Israeli audience demonstrates substantial backing from a broad Jewish public, particularly among younger generations. "Jordan for president," they repeatedly called out to the 29-year-old politician.
From Bardella's perspective, the controversy surrounding him represents a classic Left-Right struggle. "There is a dividing line between Left and Right in Israel too. For this reason, Israelis who belong to the Left side of the spectrum don't like me. But you also have Israelis from the Right who do like me, because they are from the Right side of the political landscape. The CRIF, which is the official organization of the Jewish community, which doesn't necessarily fully represent the community, fights against me because they are leftists. Meyer Habib, who is a right-wing person, supported my trip here."
At the same time, Bardella recognizes that gaining complete legitimacy from the entire Jewish community requires a lengthy process. "Trust is something that needs to be built. You can't force people to believe you or declare it."
Q: What do you think about Jean-Marie Le Pen (Marine Le Pen's father who founded the National Front party and was antisemitic and pro-Nazi)?
"Our party today is not the National Front party of the past. In 2018, Madam Marine Le Pen broke her connection with her father, precisely on this background. I was born in 1995 and have served as party chairman since 2022. Jean-Marie Le Pen, who retired from politics when I was 15, I met only three times in my life. Le Pen at that time had no responsibility for the party. He was convicted of antisemitic statements, and I condemn those statements, so there is no debate about it."
Q: Even though you are working to cleanse the National Rally of antisemitism, members who support it are still being discovered. For example, that parliament member who sold antisemitic books in his store.
"That's fake news."
Q: You mentioned radical Islam, and many Israelis think Europe is already lost. We see antisemitism, riots, neighborhoods that French police don't enter, members of Parliament in Britain who are resigning.
"France and the European Union are indeed at a crossroads regarding our future. In the last 30 years, immigration policy in the European Union has not been under control. We allowed a huge number of people to cross the borders of the European Union and also to France. And unfortunately, without our noticing, some of the communities that developed in our society were created by radical Islam. What they really want is to conquer the country. They want to violently impose new definitions of how we should live in our society."
Q: So what, in practical terms, do you intend to do if you come to power?
"The atrocities that happened on October 7 are both a tragedy and a warning, also for the French people. From the perspective of the French people, we had 50 French people who died in the Hamas atrocities. At the same time, for the first time in the history of France, we have some Left and far-Left parties that don't condemn the terror and the Islamic terrorists. They call it a 'resistance movement.'
"To answer your question, we need to restore security through several actions – a strong and strict policy of law and punishment, with sending people to prison. We want to end the uncontrolled immigration that has been in France for a very long time, and we really need to fight for our soul against radical Islam.
"We have several ways to do this. The first is to expel from France any foreign citizen who has become radicalized or incites radicalization. The secret services believe that 50% of extremists in France are not French but have foreign citizenship. And another thing: We need to close mosques and schools where there is radicalization and incitement. Most of the radical mosques belong to the Muslim Brotherhood."
Q: Should we support military action against Iran's nuclear infrastructure, as Trump is considering, given that it is on the verge of a bomb?
"The Iranian regime clearly wants to erase Israel, but we don't have the information that Donald Trump has. France and Israel have many overlapping interests in this matter, and it's clear that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. The second point in this context is that the interest of France and Israel is to prevent the establishment of a new Islamic state in Syria. This would be a danger to the European Union and world peace."
Q: In your opinion, can Hamas play a future role in Gaza?
Bardella: "Hamas must be disarmed. It is primarily responsible for most civilian deaths in Gaza. There is no possibility of giving any legitimacy to Hamas, which is a terrorist movement, when its only motive is to destroy Israel. They need to be completely off the table."
"The atrocities that happened on October 7 are both a tragedy and a warning, also for the French people. From the perspective of the French people, we had 50 French people who died in the Hamas atrocities. At the same time, for the first time in the history of France, we have some Left and far-Left parties that don't condemn the terror and the Islamic terrorists. They call it a 'resistance movement.'
Q: Would you support moving the French embassy to Jerusalem, as the Americans did?
"The issue is related to the broader issue of a comprehensive settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. France, of course, is very attached to the horizon of two states. This has been our perspective for the region, but it becomes completely impossible as long as Hamas is present. Therefore, unfortunately, the actual situation is that the embassy will remain in Tel Aviv for now."
Q: Finally, if Marine Le Pen is convicted in her trial, will you be the party's candidate for president?
Bardella: "Marine Le Pen is innocent."
