Washington, DC – Telegenic leader of the national rally, Jordan Bardera has said he has been fighting for the French “soul” since he dropped out of college to work full-time for the country's right-wing party. I say it.
“I chose to enter the Lions' nest,” Bardera said in an exclusive interview that he posted his role in French politics.
“I had to fight to protect my ideas. Politics is violent. In politics, you are judged, attacked and criticized.”
Bardella, 29, brings his message to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday, the first French politician to speak at the rally since 2018.
So he highlights many of the same concerns President Trump defines America as a great re-promotion. It highlights the fight against mass immigration, censorship, rising costs of living, and the awakening ideology that has prevented France from moving forward over the past 20 years. .
“I was impressed by JD Vance's speech. He said that European countries are at risk of losing their value and their biggest enemy comes from within,” Valdera said. . week.
“But I am bringing me a message from the political movement of hope for France and Europe.
“France invented the concept of “nation,” but they don't want the French state to disappear. Like Donald Trump's victory or American patriotism, we want it to inspire other parts of the world. ”
And he says Trump's victory is “great for America,” but that's challenging for Europe as well. But most of Europe still believes that they are not their interests. ”
Valdera, a member of the European Parliament, has long been a rising star on the French right.
In 2022 he became the leader of a national assembly, a populist and nationalist party, formerly known as the National Front. The far-right movement was founded in 1972 by Jean Marine Le Pen, a polarized French figure. Le Pen passed away in January. He was 96 years old.
In 2011, National Front leadership moved to Marine Le Pen, Le Pen's daughter. He said he was still a minor and needed his mother's signature to join. He then dropped out of the Sorbonne, one of France's most prestigious universities, and worked in politics.
“Politics chose me,” he said. “Marine Le Pen has given me a chance. She is one of France's greatest women. I was inspired by her courage and patriotism and her concerns about the working class. She gave me a great opportunity.”
In 2018, the party went through a massive rebrand and name change as it sought to appeal to younger voters. Four years later, Marine Le Pen, a three-time candidate for French President, chose Valdera to lead the party.
With his film star looks and more than 2 million followers of Tik Tock, Bardera has the charm of a French rock star. Thanks to his appeal, 25% of French voters between the ages of 18 and 25 (who say they are interested in increasing immigration and crime) voted for national rallies in the European Parliament elections last year, analysts said. I say it.
When his memoirs were released in November, young fans lined up for hours to get autographed copies, while women said, “I love you, Jordan!” on social media.
He flocks regularly at events where fans keep copies of his books in search of his books. He admits that it is a bit of a shock to anyone who describes himself in his book.Ce Que Je Cherche(“What I'm Looking for”), as a very reserved and private.
The memoir became a huge bestseller despite collaborative efforts by the country's railway unions to ban advertising for books on trains and train stations a few days before its November release. The union said it was opposed to all forms of political advertising and once banned advertising by Greenpeace.
“This time is a critical part of freedom of expression,” Bardera said at the X-Post last year. “At the request of SNCF [National Company of the French Railways]the advertising company censored the promotional campaign for my book. ”
But in the end, the fuss may have increased book sales, he told the Post. “When the union tried to block ads for my book, it made it even more popular. They were my bestseller agents,” says Bardera, before France, who released her memoir in 2022. He added that he sold more than 200,000 copies, an exponential increase in President François Holland.
“Hollande only sold 6,000 copies of his book,” he said.
Bardella's memoirs are part of a political manifesto and a story of age that traces his rise from Drancy, a poor suburb in the northeast of Paris.
The only child of Italian immigrants, he was raised by a single mother who worked as a kindergarten assistant after his parents split.
“My upbringing was similar to JD Vance,” Bardella said. “I grew up poor. I had no traditional trajectory of French politicians. I didn't go to epic schools, like the PO of science or the national administration school.
“My schooling was one of the French movements of patriots. When I vote for RN [National Rally] You are not voting for Technocrat, you are voting for a move that understands and inspires hope. ”
The party scored a major upset in the summer when it won 31.4% of the vote and won a total of 30 seats in the European Parliament elections.
An hour after the victory, French President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the French parliament and declared a snap election, primarily to test the strength of the French right.
The national rally won 34% of the vote in the first round of votes, and Valdera is ready to become the youngest prime minister in French history if the movement wins an absolute majority in the Parliament. Ta. However, the national rally lost a spectacular comeback in the second round of the vote.
“We always make mistakes, make mistakes, and take responsibility for the outcome,” Bardera said on French television after the defeat.
Marine Le Pen refuses to admit defeat, and her party's victory was not cancelled, but simply “postponed” and the loss of the “unnatural alliance” between the country's left-wing parties and Macron He said he criticized the
Still, the national rally won another 53 seats in the national council, bringing it to 142. The Left Alliance, set up to counter the national assembly, is a top-class party with 188 seats.
“Politicians are overexposed on social media and can't afford to make mistakes. And when you're defending patriotic ideas, you have no room for even more mistakes.”
