The president of the National Rally in the Grand-Est region, Virginie Joron, was elected on Jordan Bardella’s list in the European elections on June 9. Who is this MEP who flirts with conspiracy circles in the European Parliament?
In the European Parliament, she “plays at home” boasted the leader of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, by presenting her 16th running mate, Virginie Joron. In this position, the Alsatian who has been sitting in the European Parliament for five years was sure to run for a second term according to the results of the polls carried out until the end of the campaign. It did not fail: the MEP will be able to regain her seat in the hemicycle thanks to the score obtained by the National Rally in the European elections this June 9.
Little known to the general public, but followed on social networks by more than 100,000 people, the MEP could nevertheless become an embarrassing profile for the far-right party. Three years ago, Virginie Jordon was placed on the European Parliament’s blacklist for having participated in a trip to Crimea occupied by the Russian army. After the Covid-19 crisis, she established herself in Strasbourg as the muse of conspiracy theorists.
Whitewash anti-vax and covid-sceptic speeches
Virginie Joron devoted her activities to the European Parliament and gave credence to conspiracy theories until being taken up by accounts affiliated with the QAnon movement (persuaded of a conspiracy by elites aimed at injecting us with chips). She rejects publications accusing the government of lies and sets out to defend the “12,000 dead” victims of “millions of side effects from Covid-19 vaccines”. In February 2024, the European Parliament refused its last fight: an exhibition to pay tribute to them.
“Everything the government told us about Covid-19 was false”, “vaccines don’t work, masks don’t work!”, she continues to write to her subscribers, most of whom are already convinced . But unlike Telegram channels, the elected official’s interventions have a little something extra: the institutional setting. And therein lies its striking force, giving an illusion of officiality to this type of marginal discourse.
Sidekick of Mariani in Russia and Syria
The trained lawyer also rushes into the pro-Russian breach opened by her acolytes of the National Rally. Virginie Joron follows in the footsteps of the most controversial candidate on Jordan Bardella’s list, Thierry Mariani, until she too was included on a “black list” of the European Parliament after their trip as an “electoral observer” to Crimea. The institution suspects them of having benefited, in 2021, from an all-expenses paid luxurious trip in exchange for drafting favorable reports to the European Union.
In 2019, still alongside Thierry Mariani, she made a trip to Syria during which she met President Bashar al-Assad during an interview lasting more than two hours. A stay which sparked controversy. His opponents accused him of relaying the speech of an authoritarian head of state. But, ignoring the remarks, Virginie Joron continued trips to Moscow and then twice to Bahrain.