As Le Pen gambles on felling French government, her far-right protege’s star rises

By Gabriel Stargardter and Elizabeth Pineau

PARIS (Reuters) -As nationalist leader Marine Le Pen orchestrated the overthrow of France’s government on Wednesday, several thousand people lined up outside a Paris cafe for a chance to share a brief word or even a selfie with the rising star of France’s far right.

Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 29-year-old wingman, is a lawmaker in the European Parliament, so he was not at the National Assembly voting alongside his fellow National Rally (RN) party members on Wednesday to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier.

Instead, he was less than five kilometres (3 miles) away, swarmed by adoring fans, signing copies of his hit debut book, “What I’m Looking For”.

“It’s the book they don’t want you to read,” said Bardella during a glitzy promotional tour that has coincided with France’s second major political crisis in six months – one that has lifted his political fortunes just as those of his long-time mentor Le Pen come under threat.

Le Pen was the driving force in toppling Barnier’s government over a 2025 budget bill she deemed too tough on the working classes. It is a risky strategy that may alienate the mainstream conservative voters she has long courted.

Opponents allege Le Pen really has President Emmanuel Macron in her cross-hairs, seeking to trigger an early election ahead of a March 31 graft trial that could see her barred from office for five years. A conviction would stop her running in the 2027 presidential election, a contest many believe she would win.

“The target is Emmanuel Macron,” Xavier Bertrand, a potential Barnier replacement, said on BFM TV. “She would like everything to speed up before her March verdict.”

Le Pen denies embezzling EU funds.

RIVALRY?

Bardella – the RN’s likely presidential candidate in 2027 if Le Pen is barred – also says she is innocent. But he raised eyebrows in a Nov. 18 TV interview when he said nobody with a criminal conviction should run as an RN candidate.

A simple gaffe or a flash of the knife at his mentor?

RN spokesman Philippe Ballard did not immediately respond to questions as to why Bardella made the comment or whether there were tensions between Le Pen and her young protege.

Either way, Bardella’s comments underlined the diverging fortunes of the RN’s tag-team after years in lockstep.

Arnaud Benedetti, a political analyst who wrote a recent book on the RN’s rise, said Le Pen and Bardella had more to gain by sticking together for now, banking on their complementary strengths such as youth and experience.

“I don’t see the beginning of a disagreement,” he told Reuters. “I’m not saying that can’t happen tomorrow … but they have no reason to split right now.”

Marie Debuire, an 18-year-old beautician who had travelled from Rennes in Brittany for the book signing, said the Le Pen name carried unnecessary baggage thanks to Marine’s father, Jean-Marie, the founder of a party that was once a byword for racism and antisemitism.

Despite believing Le Pen was guilty of the graft charges, Debuire said she should run in 2027.

“But I think Bardella has a better chance of winning,” she said. “The RN has a shot at being in power thanks to Bardella not being called Le Pen.”

A Nov. 26 poll by Odoxa showed that 59% of RN voters prefer Bardella, with 37% favoring Le Pen.

BAD REVIEWS

Reviews of Bardella’s tome have not been kind – “a marketing object … devoid of any introspection or revelation,” Le Monde declared – but sales have been robust, with nearly 60,000 copies sold since its launch on Nov. 9, according to Europe 1.

None of the young crowd queuing round the block in the freezing cold to meet their hero on Wednesday night were concerned about sniffy reviews in Parisien broadsheets.

They were more worried about rising gang violence and immigration, issues Bardella has made a key part of his political pitch.

“We need things to change and I think Bardella is the man to do it,” said 18-year-old Eric Berthelot, who hails from a rough, immigrant-heavy suburb outside Paris.

“France welcomes all the misery of the world,” he said. “But those who arrive don’t respect our culture and want to destroy our country. That’s not acceptable and must be punished.”

Bardella has long cited his upbringing in the poor and multi-ethnic Seine-Saint-Denis department north of Paris as the crucible in which his political views were forged.

Ismael Habri, a 27-year-old janitor with a TRUMP badge on his lapel, said he grew up in a similar environment.

“I know the ghetto well so I understand Bardella,” he said. “France needs hope.”

(Reporting by Gabriel StargardterEditing by Bill Berkrot and Gareth Jones)