Exclusive | Wildly popular French pol Jordan Bardella to tell of fight for soul of France at CPAC and why Trump is right
WASHINGTON, DC — Jordan Bardella, the telegenic leader of the National Rally, says he’s been fighting for the “soul” of France since he dropped out of university to work full time for the country’s right wing party.“I chose to enter the lions’ den,” Bardella told The Post of his role in French politics during an exclusive interview.“There I had to fight to defend my ideas.
Politics is violent.In politics, you are judged, attacked, criticized.
Bardella, 29, will bring his message to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Friday —the first French politician to speak at the gathering since 2018.There, he will emphasize many of the same concerns that define President Trump’s Make America Great Again movement — a battle against mass immigration, censorship, the rising cost of living and against woke ideologies he says have prevented France from moving forward over the last two decades.“I was impressed by JD Vance’s speech in which he said that European countries were in danger of losing their values, and that their greatest enemies are from within,” said Bardella, referring to the blistering address that the US vice president delivered in Munich last week.
“But I am bringing with me a message from my political movement of hope for France and also for Europe.“France invented the concept of the ‘nation,’ and we don’t want the French nation to disappear.
We want it to inspire the rest of the world, like the victory of Donald Trump and the victory of American patriotism.”And while he says Trump’s victory “is a great thing for America” it’s also challenging for Europe because “the US president is committed to defending America’s interests, as he should.But most of Europe still believe those are not their interests.”Bardella, who is also a member of the European Parliament, has long been a rising star of the French right wing.
In 2022, he became the leader of the National Rally, the populist and nation...