New Evidence Weakens Jordan Bardella Defense Over Anti-Semitic Remarks

Seventy-two percent of French citizens report no shift in their opinion regarding National Rally leader Jordan Bardella following recent investigative reports regarding past social media activity, according to an Ifop-LCI poll published Thursday, October 8, 2026. Linternaute.com reported that two new investigative pieces published Friday, October 9, 2026, by Mediapart and Le Canard enchaîné further challenged Bardella’s denials concerning anti-Semitic remarks allegedly made on Messenger during his youth.

Mediapart Ties Twitter Account to Messenger Chats

Mediapart published an investigative article on Friday, October 9, 2026, presenting evidence linking a Twitter account belonging to Bardella to private Messenger conversations. The investigative outlet stated it had certified the conversations through Meta and a judicial officer, while also conducting biographical cross-referencing. The report focuses on messages dated September 12, 2013, the day before Bardella turned 18.

According to Mediapart, Bardella published a post on Twitter at 22:50 on September 12, 2013, concerning François Hollande’s economic adviser at Rothschild Bank, alongside a link to an article about Emmanuel Macron. Two minutes later, at 22:52, a similar topic appeared in the private Messenger discussion where the disputed anti-Semitic remarks occurred. In that chat, a user identified as Bardella mentioned reading an interesting piece online about Hollande’s adviser working for Rothschild Bank. Mediapart noted that both the Twitter post and the Messenger message spelled Rothschild without the letter h.

Le Canard enchaîné Details Deleted Facebook Data

On the same day, the satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîné reported that Bardella allegedly deleted all data from a personal Facebook account used during his time as a young militant with the Front national in Seine-Saint-Denis. The publication stated that these deletions occurred between September 28 and October 2, 2026, immediately following Mediapart’s initial September 28 report. Le Canard enchaîné asserted that it possesses extractions of private conversations to substantiate the claim.

Journalist Pierre-Stéphane Fort, appearing on the television program C dans l’air on Friday, October 9, 2026, discussed the investigation and confirmed that he had access to Messenger conversation extractions between Bardella and a former Front national militant spanning 2013 and 2014. Fort stated that the first extraction on September 28, 2026, at 08:37 contained messages from Bardella, while a second extraction on Friday, October 2, 2026, at 12:47 showed that all of Bardella’s messages had disappeared.

Public Opinion and Legal Actions Follow New Disclosures

The Ifop-LCI poll published Thursday, October 8, 2026, indicated that while 72 percent of respondents’ opinions remained unchanged, 21 percent stated their view of the National Rally leader had rather deteriorated, and 7 percent said it had rather improved. Additionally, 74 percent of the French public surveyed found the attributed remarks very grave, compared to 45 percent among National Rally sympathizers, 88 percent of whom expressed conviction in Bardella’s defense.

Responding to the reports on X on Friday, October 9, 2026, Bardella denied the allegations and announced plans for legal action.

C’est bien sûr totalement faux. Et une nouvelle plainte en diffamation suivra.

Jordan Bardella