Europe29 September, 20262 min read
Emmanuel Macron Denounces Jordan Bardella Antisemitic Messages, Urges Clarification During Spain Visit
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Mediapart alleges Bardella made antisemitic remarks in 2013; Bardella denies them. Bardella says he filed a defamation lawsuit against Mediapart over the claims.
Macron, Bardella, and Spain
Emmanuel Macron denounced reports that Jordan Bardella sent antisemitic messages between 2013 and 2015 as "extremely serious and unacceptable" and urged Bardella to clarify his position during a two-day state visit to Spain.
Jordan Bardella replied to Macron on X by saying, "After October 7, 2023, I walked the streets of Paris and travelled to Israel. He did not."
Macron also urged those responsible to "provide clarifications" and criticized the National Rally's "inflammatory language" directed at Mediapart, saying such rhetoric leads to escalation.
Marine Le Pen said she had "absolute confidence" in Bardella as Bardella announced he would take legal action for defamation.
Mediapart’s report, as described in the coverage, alleged that the messages were written more than a decade ago and that Bardella was a teenager and a member of the National Front at the time.
Israeli minister backs Bardella
Amichai Chikli defended Jordan Bardella on Tuesday, writing on X that the National Rally president was "one of the clearest voices in Europe against Hamas".
Chikli added, "He visited the Nova site and the communities near Gaza. He met survivors. He spoke in Jerusalem against antisemitism," as he published a photo showing him shaking hands with Bardella at the Nova music festival site.
Bardella denied authorship of the antisemitic messages attributed to him by Mediapart and announced a defamation suit, while Macron had urged clarifications after calling the allegations appalling.
RTL described Mediapart’s claims as dating from 2013 and said Bardella formally denied writing the messages and announced a defamation lawsuit.
Courrier international reported that Walla pointed to a contradiction between the remarks Mediapart attributes to Bardella and Bardella’s more recent efforts to forge close ties with the Hebrew state, including a visit to Israel in 2025.
Legal fight and political stakes
Bardella told CNews television that "Everything is going to be done to destabilise the campaign," and he said he had instructed his lawyer to sue for libel. Mediapart said it had independently authenticated "dozens of written conversations" and that the conversations came from "a bigger documentary base corroborated by witness statements," while Bardella condemned the report as an attempt to destroy his political career. The Times of Israel reported that Bardella, 31, was tipped to become prime minister if Marine Le Pen is elected France’s president next April.
Haaretz framed Chikli’s defense as further cementing Chikli’s and the Israeli government’s ties with Europe’s far right amid widely condemned antisemitic allegations. Caliber.Az reported that Bardella filed a defamation lawsuit against Mediapart and quoted a message attributed to Bardella saying, "All the banks are owned by Jews."