French far-right’s Bardella denies alleged antisemitic comments, files defamation lawsuit

According to a French investigative website, National Rally (RN) leader Jordan Bardella allegedly made antisemitic comments in writing in 2013. However, Bardella, who is close to presidential front-runner Marine Le Pen, has rejected the claims as "crude forgeries" and filed a defamation lawsuit against the website Mediapart. Mediapart's investigation claims to have authenticated the comments made by Bardella in private chats when he was 17 or 18 years old.

The allegations include Bardella stating that the "Jew has to dominate other peoples, crush them, and rob them" and that "all the banks are owned by Jews." Le Pen herself has dismissed the purported comments as fake, accusing Mediapart of "dirty tricks." Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, called the allegations "extremely serious" and criticized Bardella's party for being a "haven for identitarians and conspiracy theorists."