Mediapart says it authenticated antisemitic messages linked to Bardella

French investigative journalism outlet Mediapart said on Thursday it had authenticated antisemitic messages dating back to 2013 that are attributed to Jordan Bardella, the de facto deputy of far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen. The allegations surface just seven months before the election that will choose a successor to President Emmanuel Macron, with Le Pen currently leading opinion polls.

Bardella, 31, has firmly denied writing the messages and announced on Thursday that he would file a legal complaint against Mediapart for defamation, as well as for "forgery and use of forgeries." Mediapart published screenshots of antisemitic messages Bardella allegedly sent to another person via Facebook Messenger in 2013.

Evidence and denial

The outlet said biographical details revealed in the conversation confirm it genuinely involved Bardella — references to a mother born in Italy, a 2013 interview he gave to Le Parisien, and his failure to pass the entrance exam for the elite Sciences Po university. Mediapart said it had verified the conversation's timing, confirmed it had not been altered afterward, and established that the account belonged to a person listed under Bardella's name on Meta/Facebook.

Bardella dismissed the evidence as "crude fabrications" based on "obscure and easily manipulated screenshots," insisting he never made such remarks, and called the outlet's case "pseudo-evidence."

Political fallout

Bardella is expected to become prime minister should Le Pen win next year's election, meaning the scandal threatens her effort to make the National Rally (RN) party more broadly acceptable to voters. Le Pen, who is riding high in the polls as she makes her fourth bid for the presidency, has voiced "total confidence" in Bardella and described the affair as a "total war" against her party. Rival candidate and former prime minister Edouard Philippe said the new evidence makes it "virtually established" that Bardella made remarks of an "obviously and scandalously antisemitic nature."