As French lawmakers voted to topple the government on Wednesday, several thousand people lined up outside a cafe in northern Paris for a chance to share a brief word, or perhaps even a selfie, with the rising star of the French far right.
Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old wingman of nationalist leader Marine Le Pen, is a lawmaker in the European Parliament. So he was not at the National Assembly voting to oust Prime Minister Michel Barnier alongside his fellow National Rally (RN) party members on Wednesday.
Instead, he was less than five kilometres (3 miles) away, swarmed by adoring fans, signing copies of his hit debut book, "What I'm Looking For."
"It's the book they don't want you to read," Bardella declared during a whirlwind promotional tour that has coincided with France's second major political crisis in six months.
Le Pen was the driving force in toppling Barnier's government over a 2025 budget bill the RN and the left deemed too tough on the working classes. That has left Bardella free to bask in adoration as he promotes his book across France.
"I bought his book on the first day and I read it straight away," said Pierre Le Camus, a 25-year-old former parliamentary assistant to an RN lawmaker, outside the book-signing venue. "I come to encourage him in everything he does."
BAD REVIEWS
The reviews have not been kind - "a marketing object ... devoid of any introspection or revelation," Le Monde declared - but sales have been robust, with nearly 60,000 copies sold since its launch on Nov. 9, according to Europe 1.
None of the young crowd queuing round the block in the freezing cold to meet their hero on Wednesday night were concerned about sniffy reviews in Parisien broadsheets.
They were more worried about rising gang violence and immigration, issues Bardella has made a key part of his political pitch.
"We need things to change and I think Bardella is the man to do it," said 18-year-old Eric Berthelot, who hails from a rough suburb outside Paris.
He said he grew up surrounded by drugs, weapons and stolen cars in a neighbourhood with a large African immigrant population. Cops were rarely present, Berthelot said, and the cameras they installed were immediately burned down. A few years ago, his friend was stabbed to death, an innocent bystander caught up in gang violence, he said.
"France welcomes all the misery of the world," he said. "But those who arrive don't respect our culture and want to destroy our country. That's not acceptable and must be punished."
'I KNOW THE GHETTO'
Louis de Lassagne, a 19-year-old student from a small wealthy town outside Paris, said he, too, was concerned by rising crime. He said he knew Philippine, a 19-year-old middle class girl murdered in September, allegedly by a Moroccan man due to be deported. The RN jumped on her high-profile killing as vindication of its calls for tougher immigration and crime laws.
Bardella has long cited his upbringing in the poor and multi-ethnic Seine-Saint-Denis department north of Paris as the crucible in which his political views were forged.
Ismael Habri, a 27-year-old janitor with a TRUMP badge on his lapel, said he grew up in a similar environment.
"I know the ghetto well so I understand Bardella," he said. "France needs hope. France needs to regain its sovereignty."
The United States has launched strikes on Iran late Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian state media reporting explosions in several...
Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have gathered in Bishkek for a summit focused on trade, investment and transport as the...
Russia has rejected German allegations that Moscow was behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, calling the claims “baseles...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, as leaders gather for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) have gathered in Bishkek for a summit focused on trade, investment and transport as the group marks 25 years since its creation.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan in the first direct U.S.-Iran military escalation in weeks.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Kyrgyzstan is hosting the sixth World Nomad Games, bringing together thousands of athletes from around the world for a celebration of traditional sports, cultural heritage and nomadic traditions.
The United States has launched strikes on Iran late Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz with Iranian state media reporting explosions in several areas including Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island.
Russia has rejected German allegations that Moscow was behind an attempted drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, calling the claims “baseless”, as Russian air attacks killed at least 12 people in Kyiv and the surrounding region earlier on Tuesday.
China used this week's Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit to deepen ties across Central Asia, turning a largely symbolic multilateral gathering into a series of bilateral agreements and modest progress toward a long-discussed SCO Development Bank.
Türkiye has drawn up a plan to restore safe grain shipments through the Black Sea and is discussing the proposal with both Moscow and Kyiv, its foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday.
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has held a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Cooperation Organisation summit in Bishkek, with China, Russia, Pakistan, the United States and the United Nations among the key partners on Uzbekistan’s agenda.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment