What’s less pleasant than a hangover in hostile terrain? Jordan Bardella would probably have been fine without it this Friday, May 24. The day before, already, he did not have the best time of his life on the set of France 2. The head of the National Rally list for the European elections was badly mistreated by the Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, during the hour and a quarter that their debate lasted. Today, it is in Hénin-Beaumont, stronghold of mayor RN Steeve Briois and MP Bruno Bilde, that Jordan Bardella is expected for his meeting with Marine Le Pen.
His relations with the duo were not always warm. To get to the gymnasium where the event is being held, the MEP had to pass in front of the “shit” (sic) town hall on which he had promised “to ride in a Leclerc tank”, after an argument with the two close to the boss, on the sidelines of her accession to the presidency of the party two years ago. Pas-de-Calais has a good memory. “I’ll ask him where his tanks are parked,” jokes a Henine resident.
More than 3,000 people flocked this Friday to the Espace François Mitterrand, the city gymnasium which is hosting the meeting. At home, Steeve Briois even allows himself to mention his conflict with the party president. “No one here is unaware that I have expressed my differences.” But still specifies: “In storms we must all be on deck behind our leaders.” Jordan Bardella will appreciate it.
Because since Thursday evening, the far-right candidate’s ears have been ringing. The fault lies in his performance against Gabriel Attal, judged not up to par by many of his comrades, who believe that the Prime Minister has corrected the head of the list both in substance and form. “It shows that when he is challenged and has to go beyond his ready-made formulas it gets hot…” comments an executive. One passage in particular is mocked internally: Jordan Bardella’s difficulty in defending the establishment of a double border, a measure defended by his party. “We ended up wondering if the idea was bad from the start or if Bardella had just defended it badly,” laughs a frontist.
“The posture of arrogance does not age well when it is he who finds himself in difficulty”
Another reason for annoyance: the arrogance that some internally accuse Jordan Bardella of. Recently, the MEP, who has a repulsive interest in Macronie and sets out to ape the attitude of some of them, even reused Emmanuel’s language elements against Valérie Hayer (the head of the Renaissance list). Macron during the second round debate of 2017. “It is certain that the posture of arrogance does not age well when it is he who finds himself in difficulty”, grimaces an elected official. Among the activists, too, there is a certain disappointment. “We were used to seeing him always on top, but now he was very disappointing,” regrets Thomas, 21, who still made the trip.
“We saw the limits of the character when he was faced with someone stronger than him,” adds Charles, 19 years old. In Hénin-Beaumont, this Friday, most of them came first, obviously, “for Marine Le Pen”.
At the party, we close ranks. There is no question, two weeks before the election, of disavowing your champion. Nor to even admit that he might have underperformed in a debate. “Gabriel Attal spoke about the RN, Jordan spoke about the French,” the elected officials simply repeat publicly. Please move on to another topic. Everyone competes in bad faith to find the best superlative to describe their leader. Marine Le Pen herself intervened on the loops of elected officials to recall that Jordan Bardella had demonstrated “height, dignity” and declined his “vision”. “Well, it still sounded false,” comments an elected official.
Jordan Bardella still wanted to explain himself this Friday in Hénin-Beaumont. “I coped by trying to defend the truth,” he declared. “And it wasn’t easy, I faced the first liar in France: Mr. Attal.” Applause in the room. Honor is safe. Polls too. In Thursday’s Ifop rolling, the far-right party is in the lead, with 33% of voting intentions. This Friday, a new element comes to reassure the frontists: an Odoxa survey for Le Figaro indicating that 40% of French people exposed to the debate and interviewed by the institute consider that Jordan Bardella’s performance strengthens their desire to vote RN in the June 9 election. The file is directly transferred to journalists, accompanied by a flowery comment from a deputy: “Kisses cold piss”. Note for later: At the RN, error is human as long as it remains without consequences. In the Hénin-Beaumont gymnasium, an activist agrees: “But we don’t care about the debates, we vote for Jordan because we know he is right.”