Bardella’s
next dream: A Franco-German reset
National
Rally heavyweights cite the Merz-Meloni working relationship as proof that
they, too, can work with Berlin.
By MARION
SOLLETTY and SARAH PAILLOU
in Paris
May 13,
2026 4:00 am CET
By Marion
Solletty and Sarah Paillou
Jordan
Bardella wants to break through Germany’s far-right firewall.
As he
prepares for a potential run for the presidency in 2027, the 30-year-old leader
of France’s far-right National Rally is trying to soften his party’s
historically hostile posture toward Germany and present himself as a leader
with whom the country’s political establishment could one day do business.
Bardella
secretly met with the German ambassador to France earlier this year, and two
senior National Rally officials — speaking on condition of anonymity to talk
about internal party discussions — suggested he could make a trip to Germany in
the coming months.
Bardella
“considers Germany an indispensable partner of France, therefore dialogue is
necessary,” said Thibaut François, the National Rally’s secretary in the
European Parliament and its point person for European affairs, confirming the
party’s outreach to Berlin.
There is
“a very clear intent to have a relationship with the countries that matter, who
are ahead of the pack in terms of population or wealth and steering things at
EU level,” François said.
For
Bardella, reaching out to Germany is a chance to burnish his international
credentials and signal to voters that he can manage relations with France’s
partners in the EU. The far-right leader’s critics point to his youth and lack
of executive experience as reasons he is not fit for France’s highest office.
The party also knows it needs to reassure economically conservative voters who
don’t share its defiance towards the EU and other European power centers.
Building
ties with Berlin will require Bardella to overcome the German political
establishment’s taboo against working with the far-right. Since the end of
World War II, the country’s mainstream parties have agreed not to cooperate
with parties like the far-right Alternative for Germany in governing or passing
legislation.
On the
international stage, Berlin has shown more flexibility, working by necessity
with nationalist leaders like former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. While the two National Rally figures cited above voiced
hope that Bardella could meet with some government or CDU-affiliated figure,
political and diplomatic etiquette makes such a meeting unlikely before the
presidential election.
As a sign
of sensitivities in Berlin, the National Rally’s meeting with German ambassador
Stephan Steinlein in February was kept under wraps until last week, when the
AFP broke news of the visit.
“It is
part of an embassy’s role to talk to all political forces in its host country,”
said a spokesperson for the embassy, declining to comment on what was
discussed.
A press
representative for the party said no visit to Germany was in the works as of
now, but Bardella’s inner circle has an example in mind for constructive
collaboration with the EU’s economic powerhouse: The working relationship
between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Meloni, who has recast herself in
office as a more moderate figure after years on the political fringes.
Bardella
has publicly cited Meloni as an inspiration, and hopes are growing within his
party that if he were to become president, he could work with the German and
Italian leaders to push the EU in a rightward direction.
In an
interview with the German newspaper FAZ Tuesday, Bardella hinted at his hope of
forming a power triangle with Berlin and Rome, citing migration as an issue on
which the three capitals could have a common cause. “France and Germany, with
Italy’s support, can consider new forms of cooperation on this issue,” he said.
“Chancellor
Merz is cooperating very pragmatically with Giorgia Meloni’s government,” said
National Rally MEP Fabrice Leggeri, one of the party’s top figures in Brussels,
noting ongoing tensions between Berlin and Paris under French President
Emmanuel Macron.
Bridge
building
A French
appeals court will decide in July whether Marine Le Pen, the National Rally’s
longtime de facto leader, will be able to stand in next year’s French
presidential election. If Le Pen is barred from running for office. Bardella is
the party’s official Plan B.
One of
his strengths is that he is seen as more free-market oriented than Le Pen, who
rose to prominence as an anti-establishment figure who pledged to leave the
eurozone. Bardella is seen as more appealing than his mentor to center-right,
economically conservative voters — and more palatable to establishment figures
in countries like Germany.
As the
leader of his party’s delegation in the European Parliament, Bardella hasn’t
shied from criticizing the EU as too favorable to Berlin. Last month, he vowed
to defend France’s interests in Brussels “in order to regain the comparative
advantages that other European countries are already enjoying.”
But
National Rally officials think they can build bridges with the government in
Berlin, citing the willingness of Merz’s Christian Democrats to push through
policy in the European Parliament with the National Rally and other far-right
parties.
In the
Parliament, the Christian Democrats are part of the European People’s Party,
the dominant center-right force, while the National Rally belongs to the
Patriots group, a collection of nationalist parties that bills itself as “the
main opposition party in the European Union.”
An
official close to Bardella pointed to collaboration between the two on efforts
in the European Parliament to slash EU bureaucracy and cut down on “punitive”
green rules, even as they disagreed on other topics like energy policy.
Bardella
told FAZ that he was ready to work with Merz on issues ranging from green rules
and other business regulations to migration. “Beyond our differences of
opinion, Franco-German relations form the foundation of Europe,” he said. “They
are essential for securing the independence and strategic autonomy of European
nations.”
A
high-profile breakup between the National Rally and the Alternative for Germany
is also cited by National Rally officials as a factor that might make the
Christian Democrats see their party as a more palatable working partner.
“We can
talk to everyone,” Leggeri said, describing the party’s role as a “bridge”
between various right-wing groups in a fractured European Parliament.
In
addition to reaching out to Germany, Bardella is building a rapport with U.K.
right-wing populist Nigel Farage, whom he congratulated on his election gains
last week. The pair shook hands in London last December during one of
Bardella’s most high-profile international trips to date.
Bardella
also traveled to Israel last year in a milestone for a movement marred by a
history of antisemitism, and both he and Marine Le Pen have met with U.S.
ambassador in Paris Charles Kushner.
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