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Jordan Bardella, president of Rassemblement National or National Rally, gives a speech and flies French flags at a rally in support of Marine le Pen after her conviction on April 6, 2025.
Could Jordan Bardella become France’s youngest president?
Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old president of France’s far-right National Rally, aka RN, has announced his readiness to run for the country’s presidency in 2027 if current party leader Marine Le Pen remains barred from contesting the race.
Le Pen was convicted in March of embezzling European Parliament funds and received a five-year ban from public office, a €100,000 fine, and a four-year sentence, partially under house arrest. She is appealing the verdict, with a decision expected in summer 2026. Supporters of Le Pen decried the decision as political and an attempt to bar her from running.
Is age an issue? French law only requires that a candidate for president be over the age of 18. Current President Emmanuel Macron holds the title of youngest head of state, having defeated Le Pen in 2017’s presidential contest when he was 39. He is now 47.
What are Bardella’s chances? The 2027 contest is widely seen as giving France’s far right its best shot at power. Macron is required to step down after two terms in office, and polling published on April 5 places RN in first place, under either Le Pen or Bardella. Should Bardella be the presidential candidate, he would, according to today’s polls, win between 31% and 35.5% of the first-round vote.Kylian Mbappé of France during the UEFA Euro 2024 Football Championship match between Austria and France on June 17, 2024
Footballer Kylian Mbappé attacks France’s far right
“We’re at a crucial moment in our country’s history,” Mbappé warned, alluding to what he sees as threats posed by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, which performed spectacularly in the recent European parliamentary elections, spurring President Emmanuel Macron to dissolve parliament and call for snap elections. Mbappé encouraged fans to vote on June 30 to block the “extremes knocking at the doors of power.”
Many players on the French team are immigrants or children of immigrants – Mbappé’s parents are from Cameroon and Algeria – putting them at odds with Le Pen’s plans to limit migration strictly. Mbappé’s announcement came hours after his teammate, Marcus Thuram, also urged fans to vote against the far right.
His call to action came after tens of thousands took to the streets of France on Saturday to denounce the far right in protests organized by labor unions and supported by the newly formed left-wing coalition. Polls show the National Rally in the lead, but we’ll be watching to see whether the backlash gains momentum against the far-right’s success ahead of the vote at the end of the month.