Anti-Semitic remarks attributed to Bardella: Copé calls on the National Rally to shed light on the matter
Jean-François Copé reacted on Tuesday, September 29, to the anti-Semitic remarks attributed to Jordan Bardella in a Mediapart investigation. Speaking on RTL radio, the mayor of Meaux, a member of the Republicans party, deemed these statements « extremely serious » and called for « the masks to fall. » The president of the National Rally party denies the accusations and claims to have filed a defamation lawsuit.
Jean-François Copé is demanding clarification.
The messages published by Mediapart on Monday, September 28, reportedly date back to the summer of 2013, when Jordan Bardella was 17 or 18 years old and active in the National Front. The newspaper claims to have authenticated private conversations containing several antisemitic remarks. It did not specify the identity of the recipient(s).
Appearing on RTL radio, Jean-François Copé stated that the remarks attributed to the RN leader echoed anti-Semitic stereotypes. « There comes a point when the masks have to fall, » declared the former leader of the Republicans.
Bardella denounces an accusation and announces a complaint
Jordan Bardella rejects the statements attributed to him. On CNews, he announced that his lawyer had filed a defamation lawsuit. He also asserted that the objective was to destabilize the National Rally’s campaign and « politically destroy » it, suggesting that Mediapart might have been behind the operation or had been manipulated.
These statements come after the publication of the investigation, the accusations of which remain contested by Jordan Bardella. Mediapart, for its part, claims to have authenticated the cited exchanges.
The Crif and the Licra react
The president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France, Yonathan Arfi, denounced to AFP what he considers the limitations of the National Rally’s efforts to soften its image. LICRA, for its part, declared that the party « has never been part of the republican movement and never will be. »
Source: franceinfo – Headlines (www.franceinfo.fr)
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