Jordan Bardella, leader of France’s National Rally (RN), says he will sue Mediapart for libel after the left-wing investigative website reported that he had made antisemitic comments as a teenager. Bardella called the report an attempt to destabilise his party ahead of next year’s presidential election; Marine Le Pen, the RN’s candidate, said she had confidence in him and suggested the alleged remarks were forged. The claims matter because the RN is gaining support and Bardella could become prime minister if Le Pen wins.

Mediapart said it had authenticated written conversations from 2013, but did not publish screenshots; it said its findings drew on a wider body of documents and witness statements. The reported comments included antisemitic claims about Jewish ownership of banks and control of world affairs. A poll cited in the article put Le Pen on 35–36% in the first round and projected her beating either left-wing candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon by 69% to 31%, or centrist Édouard Philippe by 57% to 43% in a run-off. The RN has sought to distance itself from its antisemitic roots, while critics said the allegations exposed limits to that effort.