PARIS – France’s far-right leader Jordan Bardella said on Feb 21 he had cancelled his speech at a right-wing meeting in Washington after a “gesture alluding to Nazi ideology” by conservative firebrand Steve Bannon.
The president of France’s National Rally (RN) party, who is in the US capital, said he was not present when Mr Bannon – one of the masterminds behind US President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign – made a gesture that has been described as a Nazi salute on Feb 20 at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
Mr Bannon briefly held out a stiff arm at the conference as he called on the audience to “fight, fight, fight”.
“I had been invited… to make a speech on the links between the United States and France, as well as the recent electoral dynamic of patriot parties in Europe,” Mr Bardella said, in a statement.
“Yesterday, while I was not present in the room, one of the speakers out of provocation allowed himself a gesture alluding to Nazi ideology. I therefore took the immediate decision to cancel my speech that had been scheduled this afternoon,” he said.
An adviser to Mr Bardella confirmed to AFP that he was speaking about Mr Bannon.
Mr Bardella, now 29, became RN leader in 2022, taking over from Ms Marine Le Pen. He also leads the Patriots group in the European Parliament.
But it is Ms Le Pen, who was runner-up in the last two French presidential elections and has remained party leader in parliament, who is expected to make the next presidential run in 2027.
Ms Le Pen has worked hard to render the party her father co-founded more palatable to voters since she took over from him in 2011, including by purging members accused of anti-Semitism and appointing the telegenic Mr Bardella to expand its voter base.
French far-right politicians Jordan Bardella (left) and Marine Le Pen.PHOTO: AFP
The RN won a record number of seats in parliament in snap polls last year after President Emmanuel Macron dissolved the lower chamber when Ms Le Pen’s party topped the poll in European elections.
At a European far-right meeting earlier this month, Ms Le Pen hailed Mr Trump’s “tornado” in the United States as showing the way forward for the European Union.
She said the world was facing “a truly global tipping point” at the meeting in Madrid, which had adopted the slogan “Make Europe Great Again” in a nod to Mr Trump’s rallying cry “Make America Great Again”.
But Mr Bardella in January posed a limit to his party’s support for Mr Trump’s ideas.
“Liking Donald Trump’s patriotism does not mean being the vassal of the United States,” he said.
Ms Le Pen on March 31 faces the verdict in an embezzlement trial on charges she denies. If convicted, she could lose the chance of standing in the 2027 elections. AFP
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Publish date : 2025-02-21 11:48:00
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