The leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) Jordan Bardella has welcomed “for the most part” concerns raised about Europe in US President Donald Trump’s new National Security Strategy.
Last week, the White House published a document which outlined Trump’s vision of the world and the state of the European continent, which many have characterised as harshly critical of Europe.
Speaking to the BBC’s Nick Robinson for his Political Thinking podcast, Bardella praised what he said was Trump’s “appeal to American pride” – but he made clear he did not want Europe to be “subservient to any major power”.
He said there was a “wind of freedom, of national pride blowing all over Western democracies”.
In a wide-ranging interview, the 30-year-old, who opinion polls suggest leads in the race to be France’s next president, was also challenged on the RN’s political history and his stance on immigration.
Bardella said he shared the majority of the concerns outlined by the Trump administration about Europe facing “civilisational erasure”, which the White House said is being fuelled by a range of policies, including on migration.
“Mass immigration and the laxity of our governments in the last 30 years with regards to migration policy are shaking the balance of European countries, of Western societies, and namely French society,” Bardella said.
Snap parliamentary elections in June 2024 made the RN the largest single force in parliament, although an alliance of left-wing parties clinched victory.
The next French presidential election is due to be held in 2027. A recent poll for Le Figaro suggests Bardella would win with 44% of the vote – just ahead of Marine Le Pen, the RN figurehead whose candidacy is in doubt after she was found guilty of embezzling EU funds and barred from standing in an election for five years.
An appeal due early next year will determine whether Le Pen can run – otherwise, the expectation is that Bardella will step in.
Bardella batted away suggestions this was sparking tensions between them, stating they were united by “trust and friendship”.
“I will fight by her side so she can win the appeal. Until the appeal we will campaign together, as we will after, hand-in-hand,” he said in his interview.
The RN was founded by Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie in 1972. Known then as the National Front (FN), it has since become a decisive force in French politics. Jean-Marie Le Pen was convicted several times for Holocaust denial and was an unrepentant extremist on race.
In his interview with Nick Robinson, Bardella distanced himself from Jean-Marie Le Pen’s comments, as have many other RN politicians in recent years.
“I am fighting against the caricature of my political movement, of my ideas,” he said, adding his responsibility was to bring together the French people and present the country with “a project of national recovery”.
“My people’s expectations for a break with the past are numerous,” Bardella added.
Challenged on the racist and antisemitic history of the RN’s precursor, Bardella rejected accusations that the National Front had ever put forward arguments that could “offend” some sections of the population
“A lot of Jewish people vote for us and consider us a bulwark against extremism,” he said.
The RN is primarily known as an anti-immigration party and has long pushed for France to have stricter immigration rules, including limiting social spending to French citizens.
“If tomorrow I am the head of government, France will no longer be the target of mass immigration,” he said, adding that if elected his first provision would be to trigger a referendum on immigration. “It will allow us to take back control of our borders.”
However, according to the French constitution, a referendum can only be held on certain subjects which do not include immigration, so the constitution would have to be amended first. In order to do so, the RN would have to clinch the presidency and have either an absolute majority in Parliament or enough allies.
Bardella – who grew up in the Paris region but himself has parents of immigrant origin – drew a clear distinction between people who he said were born in France but “reject republican institutions like the police or values like secularism”, and others who “do everything to become French – espouse the language, culture and national patrimony”.
When pressed on what it means to be French if being born in the country is not sufficient, Bardella said he felt being French was an “honour” that transcended bureaucracy.
“Being French is adhering to some values and lifestyles, believing in equality between men and women,” he argued.
“I defend secularism and I feel that Islamism has today become a separate political project… which wants to impose its rules on French society,” Bardella added, before promising to close down radical mosques and banning “hate preachers” from the country if elected.
Although he did not expand on France’s frequent and longstanding financial woes – the country’s debt is more than €3 trillion, or around 114% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – Bardella said the French economy was “sick”.
“We face two ailments – excessive taxation and excessive regulation,” he said, promising to free the country from the “shackles” that limit growth. The RN has repeatedly voted down the yearly budgets put forward by governments since last year, and has promised to similarly vote down this year’s.
Bardella’s position on Ukraine also bears some differences with that of the current centrist government. While he stated Russia represented a “multidimensional threat to French and European interests”, and that Kyiv will need security guarantees even in the event of a peace deal, he also said that he was “firmly opposed” to sending soldiers to Ukraine.
Emmanuel Macron’s government, on the other hand, has proposed deploying a steady military presence, albeit far from the front line.
But such a decision “would contribute to an escalation,” Bardella said, “especially given that we have nuclear weapons and that President Putin has intentions whose limits are unclear”.
If Bardella does stand at the next presidential election and wins, he will be 31.
Macron was 39 when he became France’s youngest ever president in 2017. While Macron was finance minister for two years under François Hollande, Bardella, in comparison, has never been in government.
“It’s true I am 30 years old. Unfortunately I can’t do anything about that,” he argued.
“I recognise the existential questions facing our country… And I’d rather be told that today is ‘too soon’ rather than tomorrow is ‘too late’.”
