On October 1, 2026, Mediapart published documents intended to support its investigation into antisemitic remarks attributed to Jordan Bardella. The outlet says it relied on Messenger exchanges dating from 2013 and 2014, whose authenticity was reportedly verified using data obtained from Meta and examined by a bailiff. The president of the National Rally disputes the allegations and has initiated defamation proceedings. ()
Private exchanges dating from 2013 and 2014
The documents published by Mediapart include screenshots of a group conversation on Facebook Messenger. According to the investigative website, Jordan Bardella actively participated in it in the summer of 2013 and put forward his arguments on his own initiative. At the time, he was already a member of the National Front, which has since become the National Rally.
The messages, as described by Mediapart, contain antisemitic remarks and conspiracy theories associated with Alain Soral’s ideology. These writings were at the heart of the revelations published by the outlet a few days earlier, on September 28. ()
The authentication method outlined by Mediapart
In response to the challenges, Mediapart explains that it received the messages from two people who had known Jordan Bardella at the time and who, according to the outlet, have no connection to each other. One of them reportedly requested the conversation data from Meta in order to compare it with the screenshots. The outlet says its examination of this material allows it to assert that the exchanges have not been altered since they were sent. It also states that the data was examined by a bailiff.
Another question was whether the participant in the conversation was indeed the RN president. Mediapart relies on several biographical details mentioned in the thread, including his mother’s Italian origins, his volunteer work with an organization helping migrants learn French, and his failure to pass the Sciences Po entrance exam. The outlet believes these details match Jordan Bardella’s background.
These elements form the case put forward by Mediapart; they do not, on their own, amount to a court ruling on the authenticity of the messages or their attribution. Jordan Bardella rejects the allegations, while RN officials and media outlets close to the far right have challenged the revelations. ()
A defamation complaint filed
Jordan Bardella has filed a defamation complaint against Mediapart. According to information reported by Le HuffPost, the complaint was filed on September 30, with an application to join the proceedings as a civil party, before the senior investigating judge at the Paris judicial court. This procedure adds a legal dimension to the dispute, without determining at this stage the veracity of the writings attributed to the RN president. ()
Source: Le HuffPost: round-the-clock news and offbeat stories from France and around the world (www.huffingtonpost.fr)
Original article: View the original source
Author: Romain Herreros
