Jordan Bardella, 29-year-old president of the National Unity (Rassemblement National, RN), announced that he was willing to compete in the 2027 presidential election if his mentor and organization leader Marine Le Pen was yet excluded from participating in the election. This declaration appeared in the context of the ongoing Le Pen legal battle, which in March 2025 was convicted of fraud involving EU funds.
It was found guilty of utilizing the European Parliament's funds to pay organization workers, which the court qualified as embezzlement. The consequence of the judgement is simply a ban on public service for 5 years. Although she made an appeal, the ban applies immediately and can effectively block her from taking off in the presidential election in 2 years.
Faced with this situation, Bardell, who has been moving the organization since 2022 and successfully conducted it through the European and local elections, stated that he would "naturally" presume the function of RN candidate if Le Pen could not run. In his conversation with the paper "Le Parisien", he stressed his willingness to take up specified a challenge, but noted that he did not intend to replace Le Pen until she herself resigned or was forced to withdraw.
Bardella's declaration was rapidly commented by Le Pen herself. In an interview with “Le Figaro” she cooled down the enthusiasm of her protege, saying:
"If I run into a truck tomorrow, of course Jordan Bardella will be a candidate. But for now I am a candidate.”
This somewhat ironic comment was intended to remind you that despite the sentence, Le Pen did not intend to quit his function in politics and inactive considers himself the leader of the national camp.
Le Pen maintains that the trial against her was political in nature, and the conviction is an effort to exclude her from public life by the European and French establishment. Her lawyers are preparing an appeal to be examined in the summertime of 2026. Le Pen hopes the court of the second instance will revoke the ban and let her to launch in the presidential campaign.
Inside the organization there is tension associated with uncertainty about the future. On the 1 hand, many activists stay loyal to Le Pen, who for over a decade led the RN from the political margin to the position of a real alternate to power. On the another hand, Bardella’s increasing popularity, especially among young voters, makes part of the environment see a more modern and medially effective face of the national movement.
Bardella is seen as a pragmatic leader who, on the 1 hand, continues a hard organization line on immigration and sovereignty issues, on the another hand, trying to soften her image and attract average voters. The electoral successes of the RN under his leadership confirm that this strategy brings results.
If Le Pen's appeal is rejected, the Bardella script as RN candidate in 2027 becomes very real. In this case, the presidential run can gain a completely different dynamic: a young, charismatic candidate against political veterans from the left and centre stage.
For the National Unity, this is simply a breakthrough — either the organization will keep coherence and make a common strategy for elections, or hazard interior divisions and weakening the forces of demolition in a decisive clash over the Elysée Palace.
