Jordan Bardella, President of France’s National Rally (RN), has his work cut out convincing French citizens that he should be prime minister following next month’s snap elections.
According to the Huffington Post survey published June 16, 41 per cent of French people polled felt Bardella would not do a better job than the current post-holder Gabriel Attal, while 35 per cent thought he would perform similarly.
The hesitation of French citizens towards Bardella could be in part because of his age. If appointed Prime Minister, the 28-year-old Bardella would become the youngest in French history.
“Can you lead France when you’re so young and inexperienced? Every French must consider this reality,” asked Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in a recent interview with Le Journal du Dimanche.
But according to his colleagues in the National Rally, his age should not be a concern.
“He will be very surrounded, it will be a collective, a team, there will be experienced people in government, including perhaps Eric Ciotti [President of the Republican party]” said outgoing RN MP Franck Alliso.
Jordan Bardella has never been part of any government. He was elected as an MEP in 2019 and 2024, a role many view as disconnected from national politics.
His sole national mandate as an elected official was a relatively minor position in the French political landscape, serving on the regional council in Île-de-France in 2015.
This survey emerges as the hard-right National Rally looks set to win the snap election on June 30 and July 7, thus putting Bardella one step closer to Matignon, the prime minister’s palace.
EXC: Marion Maréchal is to “build her own party” after the implosion of Reconquête in the run-up to France’s snap elections. https://t.co/hgGdDDqT61
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The latest poll positioned the RN in the lead with 31 per cent of the vote, followed by the left-wing Popular Front with 28 per cent, the Renaissance party with 18 per cent, and the traditional centre-right Republican Party with 7 per cent.
