The French far right seems to be going through a period of dynamic restructuring. 54 year old Marine Le Pen handed over the reins of power to the faction 27 year old Jordan Bardela and similarly, the party founded by Father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972 (i.e., the National Front, which has now given way to the so-called National Alert) finds for the first time in 50 years that it has a leader other than Le Pen.

Bardella, 27, a politician with strong anti-immigration rhetoric but of Italian and Algerian descent, has now been called in by the new President of the National Alert to lead the party. i.e. “on the verge of bankruptcy”, as the veteran journalist John Lichfield, who worked for many years as a correspondent for the British media in France, writes in his analysis.

At Marine Le Pen’s party 89 seats in the national assembly. In this sense, it is more powerful than ever before. Le Pen herself makes it clear that she is going to run again (for the fourth time) for the presidency of France in the 2027 elections, while Bardela’s coming to the leadership of the party can play not a subversive, but a positive role for Le Pen herself, as John Lichfield mentions in your analysis.

Within the ranks, however, there is an entire generation of leaders now marginalized in the shadow of Bardela’s rise.

The 27-year-old MP was elected to the party leadership last Saturday by the faction’s members, with 85% of the vote compared to (former Le Pen candidate) Louis Allot.

However, one of the first steps taken by the new leader after the handover was to marginalize, outside the group of leaders, the numerous leaders from the north of France who had been part of Le Pen’s inner circle for a number of years. : in this case mr. Steve Brewis as well as Bruno Bilde who, however, reacted with criticism of the new party leadership.

For its part, according to John Lichfield, Le Pen’s party is now facing the biggest internal split in two decades. The displaced old cadres accuse Jordan Bardela of misunderstanding the French workers and of wanting to re-radicalize a faction that has moved away from political extremes in recent years.

However, Bardella’s supporters believe, on the contrary, that by his actions he could return votes from his pool. Eric Zemur and revitalize the party on its way to the next election.

By the way, it’s worth noting that Jordan Bardela’s name may not be Le Pen, but he is part of a large family, as he keeps in touch with Marine Le Pen’s niece (her older sister’s daughter).

According to Unherd