For about half a century, France’s largest far-right party has been led by just two people: its founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and his daughter Marine. On Saturday, rank-and-file members reached outside the family to choose their new chief.
Jordan Bardella, a 27-year-old of Italian descent from the Parisian suburbs, won an internal National Rally online ballot, beating Louis Aliot, mayor of the southern city of Perpignan, by a large margin.
“I owe everything to Marine,” Bardella said in a victory speech in Paris. He compared France to a plane without a pilot and called on citizens across the political spectrum to rally behind him. “We will succeed Emmanuel Macron,” he added, casting himself as the leader of the opposition to the centrist head of state.
