Jordan Bardella has courted Poland’s nationalist opposition during a two-day visit to Warsaw, the latest move by the French presidential frontrunner to assemble a like-minded bloc across Europe before his country votes in 2027.
The president of France’s National Rally (RN), who also chairs the right-wing Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament, began the trip on June 18, 2026. It followed earlier stops in Portugal, Italy and Belgium.
He held a closed-door meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who is backed by the Law and Justice (PiS) opposition party. Bardella also appeared alongside Krzysztof Bosak, a leader of the nationalist Konfederacja (Confederation) coalition.
The RN leader said France and Poland shared a common identity and overlapping views on migration, security and what he called excessive bureaucracy at European level.
He pledged closer defence ties between the two countries, particularly “at a time of American disengagement” in Europe, before a planned trip to Poland’s eastern frontier.
The visit carried weight beyond symbolism. Bardella is widely seen as the favourite to win the French presidency in the spring of 2027, after a court barred his mentor, Marine Le Pen, from standing following her conviction for misusing European Union funds.
Poland is heading towards its own parliamentary election in the autumn of 2027, when PiS and Konfederacja could seek to govern together. Neither has announced a formal alliance.
Anna Brylka, a Polish MEP who appeared with Bardella and Bosak, said Polish and French interests now converged on key issues and predicted 2027 would be “a breakthrough for both of our nations”.
Immigration ran through the trip. Bardella visited the Warsaw headquarters of Frontex, the EU’s border agency, and was due to inspect the electronic barrier Poland has built along its border with Belarus to block irregular crossings.
The Patriots for Europe group, the third largest in the European Parliament, has become the main vehicle for the RN leader’s wider ambitions. He has said he wants to reshape the bloc around national sovereignty and tighter borders.
