Poster boy of France’s hard-right, 27, set to head party of Le Pens

‘If Le Pen does not win the presidency in 2027, he will become her successor in 2032, when he will be 37’

‘She is the political leader and I am her army general; she is in charge nationally’

A CLEAN-CUT 27-year-old likely to become the anointed leader of the antiimmigration National Rally today could be the first person from outside the Le Pen family to fill the role in 50 years.

Jordan Bardella, who describes himself as Marine Le Pen’s “general”, is expected to be named party chairman at a congress in Paris after a vote by members. His only rival is Louis Aliot, a party veteran of 30 years who is the mayor of Perpignan and Ms Le Pen’s former boyfriend. With his cropped hair, sharp suit and tie and gift for punchy sound bites, Mr Bardella is a poster boy for Ms Le Pen’s attempt to “de-demonise” a party long seen as xenophobic and racist under co-founder Jean-marie Le Pen. He led the Front National – its former name – for 40 years.

With a record 89 seats in parliament and a poll last week indicating that Ms Le Pen is France’s second most popular political personality, the party is due to celebrate its successes at the congress.

However, the event has been overshadowed by a furore created by hardright MP Grégoire de Fournas who on Thursday yelled “go back to Africa” at a black Leftist MP questioning the government on migrant arrivals. The next day, a cross-party parliamentary committee imposed a two-week suspension and a fine of two months’ salary – the maximum penalty – on Mr de Fournas.

It was only the second time in the history of France’s Fifth Republic, established by Charles de Gaulle in 1958, that an MP had received such a rebuke.

Ms Le Pen conceded that the comments were “clumsy” while insisting that he was merely defending the party line, namely a halt to illegal immigration after a surge in the number of people travelling to France from Africa in recent years. But privately, MPS said the timing of the remark was “catastrophic”.

“You don’t say things like that when talking about human beings, above all in the National Assembly,” said David Rachline, the National Rally mayor of Fréjus, in the south of France, and one of Ms Le Pen’s closest allies. Compounding the discomfort, Mr de Fournas was tipped to be one of Mr Bardellla’s party spokesmen. While the congress is likely to seal his position as the dauphin to Ms Le Pen, Mr Bardella said she continued to call the shots. “She’s the political leader and I’m her army general,” he said. “I’m in charge of the European area; she’s in charge nationally.”

Bruno Cautres, a political analyst, said: “Jordan Bardella will take a more important role in the party and French politics. If Le Pen does not win the presidency in 2027, he will become her successor in 2032, when he will be 37.”