Bardella denies Mediapart report of antisemitic messages

Mediapart published an investigation Monday claiming private messages it authenticated show Jordan Bardella making antisemitic remarks in 2013, when he was 17 or 18 and had joined the National Front about a year and a half earlier. The outlet said its probe lasted several months, reviewed dozens of conversations, and linked him to views of Alain Soral. One message in the report said all the banks are owned by Jews and cited Bernard-Henri Lévy and Jacques Attali in a claim about a new world order controlled by Israel. Bardella, now 31 and president of the National Rally, rejected the claims on X as crude forgeries, said he was not an active member and still a minor that summer, and vowed legal action. Marine Le Pen told reporters in Paris she had not read the article, that no sane person can believe this madness, and that it can only be a forgery, a dirty exercise that this outlet specializes in. Olivier Faure answered with irony on social media, citing Bardella's past remarks on Jean-Marie Le Pen. The story lands ahead of the 2027 race; a poll cited by France 24 showed Le Pen leading and potentially winning.