French hard-right leader accuses opponents of 'total war' after claims of antisemitism

Image source, Anadolu via Getty ImagesImage caption, Jordan Bardella, 31, would probably be prime minister if Marine Le Pen wins next year's presidential electionByHugh Schofieldin ParisPublished1 hour agoThe president of France's hard-right National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, has said he will sue for libel after a report published antisemitic comments that it alleged he had made as a young activist.The Mediapart website released what it said was the result of "several months" of investigation into "dozens of written conversations" Bardella allegedly had in 2013.With seven months to go before France's presidential elections, Bardella condemned "the beginnings of a total war" aimed at destabilising his party, and RN presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said she had total confidence in him.The alleged remarks included blatantly antisemitic tropes, and Bardella said they were an attempt to destroy his political career.Mediapart did not produce screen-grabs of any of the alleged remarks. It said it had "independently authenticated" the conversations, which came from "a bigger documentary base corroborated by witness statements".But Bardella, 31 – who is a likely prime minister if Le Pen wins the presidential election – said the allegations were a fabrication aimed at derailing the RN's increasingly confident bid for power."Everything is going to be done to destabilise the campaign," he told CNews television on Monday night. "Either Mediapart is running this operation itself, or it is being manipulated by interested parties."Of course I have instructed my lawyer to sue for libel."Le Pen said the alleged remarks "seem so weird that they can only be a forgery – one of those dirty tricks for which Mediapart appears to hold the secret".Among the statements that Mediapart alleges Bardella made when he was 17 or 18 are: "All the banks are owned by Jews"; "The Jew has to dominate other people, crush them and rob them"; and "What they want is a new world order dominated by Israel, with of course Jerusalem as its capital."Mediapart is an avowedly leftwing website which has exposed a number of scandals over the years, though its targets have been politicians of all stripes.The French hard right is riding higher than ever in pre-election polls, with the latest this week, from Toluna-Harris, showing Le Pen a clear victor over whatever rival she faces in the crucial second round in May.Image source, ReutersImage caption, Marine Le Pen (R) is now favourite to win the second round of next year's presidential electionsAccording to the survey, Le Pen would pick up 35-36% of the vote in the multi-candidate first round. Her likely opponent in the two-way run-off would be Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the radical left who she would eradicate with 69% of the vote.But in a stark warning for the political establishment, the poll showed that she would also easily beat the most popular centrist candidate Edouard Philippe, with a score of 57%.On Sunday the RN received another boost when results of a partial election for the upper house of parliament, the Senate, produced for the first time enough seats for the party to form an official group.Under Marine Le Pen, daughter of the historic party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, the RN has made huge efforts to distance itself from the French far-right's antisemitic roots. Last year Bardella was the first senior figure from the party to be invited to Israel, for a conference on antisemitism.Today the party regards militant Islam as a pre-eminent threat – a position it shares with many Jews. The RN even styles itself as a "shield for the Jewish community".The alleged comments from Bardella throw back to a current of far-right thinking that Mediapart says has never been eradicated but only covered up in the new-look party.Leftwing politicians called on Bardella to resign, and the head of the Jewish umbrella organisation Crif, Yonathan Arfi, said the alleged comments "were an illustration of the limits of the RN's clean-up act".But RN deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy said the source of the allegations was disaffected members of the party who had been expelled years ago because of their antisemitic ideas."From what I know, it is the antisemitic rabble that were so bravely purged by Marine Le Pen. At the start of the 2010s, they were numerous and well-organised, but they were defeated. These people have always had it in for us."Related topicsMarine Le PenFrench politicsFranceEuropeMore on this storyFarage unveils small boats deal with French National Rally partyPublished4 SeptemberFrance's Marine Le Pen, fighting court conviction and running for presidencyPublished7 JulyThe photo that shows who's really on top in Le Pen's partyPublished11 JulyWill Le Pen rise again? French nationalist leader defiant after court's rulingPublished8 July