Washington

France’s Jordan Bardella, the immigrant’s son who would target migrants

Published

3 months ago

July 6, 2024

France’s Jordan Bardella, the immigrant’s son who would target migrants

SAINT-DENIS, France — Filled with the savory scent of kebab shops and the lilting sounds of foreign-accented French, this sprawling suburb north of Paris is the hometown of a not-so-proud son: Jordan Bardella. In scathing critiques, the 28-year-old seeking to be this country’s youngest prime minister cites the multiculturalism here as an example of everything that is wrong with today’s France.

“I grew up in a humble project where I experienced, to my very core, the feeling of becoming a foreigner in my own country,” Bardella told French media last month. “I’ve experienced the Islamization of my neighborhood. I’ve experienced the insecurity. I’ve experienced the search-and-frisk when you enter your building and you’re confronted with drug trafficking.”

Bardella is now the youthful face of the resurgent National Rally — a once-toxic anti-immigrant movement that posted a first-place finish in last weekend’s legislative vote. If his party can sufficiently expand its support in Sunday’s runoff, Bardella — who has pledged to bar dual citizens from sensitive posts and hold a national referendum on migration — would become France’s first far-right head of government since World War II.

“This is the time to give Jordan Bardella an absolute majority in the French Parliament,” Bardella’s boss, French nationalist Marine Le Pen, told supporters.

A victory could see Bardella, under Le Pen’s guidance, turn France into a laboratory in the heart of Western Europe for aggressive anti-migration policies, including accelerating deportations and making citizenship harder to obtain. His words suggest he separates immigrants into two camps: desirable ones, like those of his own predominantly Italian family, who assimilate, learn French and love their adopted nation; and those — particularly from Islamic countries — he views as rejecting French values, language and culture.

The Bardella who appears at campaign rallies and poses for selfies with adoring fans is the product of media trainers and party mentors who fashioned him as the smiling, besuited subordinate of Le Pen — a political figure he came to know as he dated young women in her orbit.

Le Monde assessed that he had an “ideal son-in-law profile.” For National Rally, he is an ideal spokesman: a TikTok-friendly, postmodern politician passionate about his party’s issues who can talk firsthand about the ills of immigrant-dominated neighborhoods. At the same time, he is young enough not to bear the taint of open racism that defined the party in the past.

But several people who know him — including a childhood friend and a former political mentor — say that image does not tell the whole Bardella story. They wonder how a son of immigrants became so anti-immigrant himself and call him a chameleon who changes his colors to suit the political mood.

“The man I see talking now does not seem like the Jordan I knew,” said Chloe, a 28-year-old of mixed race who went to school with Bardella. She spoke on the condition that her last name be withheld, because her job as a civil servant requires political neutrality.

A photo she recently posted on X shows the two of them at McDonald’s during her 6th-birthday party. In an interview, she recalled visits to the small apartment in the drab urban housing bloc where Bardella lived with his divorced mother, an Italian who had arrived in France as a child. Bardella would also sometimes stay with his father, an entrepreneur who reportedly paid for his son’s private education.

She remembers the studious, even shy boy at Saint Vincent de Paul elementary, a private school for more-privileged children in the neighborhood. She said Bardella began to bloom once they transferred to Jean Baptiste de La Salle middle school. He played soccer, cracked jokes.

They were in primary school in 2005 when riots exploded in their department of Seine-Saint-Denis after the deaths of two Muslim boys hiding from police in a power substation. She had lost touch with Bardella by the time the ringleader of the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks was gunned down by police here. But in all the years she knew him, she said, she couldn’t recall him uttering a single negative word about the multicultural world they lived in.

“In Saint-Denis, there were Arabic people, Italian people, Portuguese people, people from everywhere, and we were all friends,” Chloe said. “So I cannot believe it when I hear him talk now. I thought at first he was just playing a role, like he wanted to belong and find a place where he could be loved. I just didn’t believe that he was thinking like this, saying these things. But I have started to believe he has really changed.”

Lea, 28, who is also a civil servant and asked that her last name be withheld, offered a different view. She said she spent ages 12 to 14 in class with Bardella and recalled an incident in which a teacher scolded her and took away her cellphone after it went off during a lesson. As she began to cry, she said, Bardella leaned forward from the desk behind her and whispered, “You deserved it.”

“He was always the one respecting the rules without an understanding of others,” she said.

Bardella, through a spokesman, denied a request for an interview. He has been remarkably opaque in his public accounts of his background.

He has called himself a Frenchman who is “75 percent Italian,” but rarely talks in specifics about his family history. Jean-Louis Beaucarnot, a lineage expert considered the “Pope of Genealogy” in France, said his research showed that of Bardella’s eight great-grandparents, six were Italian, one was French and one — a paternal great-grandfather — was Algerian.

For a leader and party that promote degrees of Frenchness, his background could seemingly pose a hurdle. He has in the past glossed over his roots. But Bardella has recently begun emphasizing them, portraying his Italian family as living proof that culturally compatible immigrants can seamlessly become “French.”

“He is first and foremost a Frenchman; we don’t consider him to be a son of immigrants,” said Edouard Bourgeault, who runs National Rally’s youth league in Paris. “He is European, and that is important to say, because Europeans share the same culture and are welcome.”

Bardella, who did not attend university, has often demurred when asked about his party’s early years as a magnet for Nazi apologists. It was co-founded in 1972 by Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marine Le Pen, who was repeatedly convicted of hate speech and of dismissing the Holocaust as a “detail” of history.

Bardella has said that he does not think the elder Le Pen was antisemitic, retorting to an interviewer last year that questions about the party’s past are “about a time I never knew.”

Bardella joined the National Rally — then known as the National Front — in 2012 at age 16. By then, Marine Le Pen had taken over as party president. But within the movement, her father remained an idolized figure known to young militants like Bardella as “Papi” — grandfather.

Pierre-Stéphane Fort, who wrote a book on Bardella, quotes a photographer who took a photo of an 18-year-old Bardella with Jean-Marine Le Pen in December 2013, a time when the elder Le Pen’s polemics were well known. The photo was taken at an event in which young party activists patiently lined up in the Paris cold for two hours for the chance of a Le Pen memento.

“You have to remember that for all the young militants, Jean-Marie Le Pen was an icon,” the photographer, Anthony Micallef, recalled in the book. “He embodied the FN, they’d all seen him on TV, they’d grown up with him. In fact, they all affectionately called him “papi” (grandpa). Often, these were young people lacking family reference points; they found in the FN a substitute family, they felt they belonged to something.”

In his book, Fort also claims that Bardella kept a secret Twitter (now X) account that spewed racist, homophobic content. Bardella has denied any link to the account.

His introduction to Marine Le Pen, the doyenne of French nationalism, was initially uneventful. Florian Philippot, a former National Rally vice president and now head of a rival nationalist party called the Patriots, recalls a meet-and-greet “in a corridor somewhere at party headquarters” in Paris in 2013. But Philippot saw a spark in the clean-cut and earnest Bardella — who had a face the camera loved — and opted to promote his career.

Bardella would receive professional media training. But Philippot also coached him, scheduling him for a first TV interview on a late-night news show. Philippot remembers calling the young man and offering him a detailed critique. The upshot: Smile more, sharpen your points. Bardella gratefully absorbed the advice and promised to do better.

So much so that by 2016, Philippot hand-selected Bardella to serve as the head of a party collective to rally backers in the suburbs under the slogan “Muslims maybe, but French first.”

At the same time, Bardella was growing closer to Le Pen, a woman he honored on election night last weekend by wearing a “marine blue” suit during a public address. Philippot recalls Bardella dating the daughter of Frédéric Chatillon, a longtime Le Pen adviser who was president of a now-disbanded far-right youth group known for spewing xenophobic and racist vitriol. Later, Bardella began dating Le Pen’s niece.

Philippot said he began to sour on Bardella, especially as he saw him shed his support for France leaving the European Union — a change backed by Le Pen to broaden her party’s appeal. Philippot saw the shift as a betrayal of French nationalist roots.

“He was very sovereigntist, but that only lasted for a while,” Philippot said. “And then I quickly realized that he was a chameleon. He was a good politician, but he didn’t have many convictions.”

By 2019, Bardella had “arrived” — elected as a member of the European Parliament at age 23. He became interim president of National Rally during Le Pen’s failed presidential run in 2022, and he received the title permanently after a party ballot in which he won 85 percent of the vote.

Now he could be prime minister. This week, more than 200 centrist and left-wing candidates in three-way races with National Rally pulled out of Sunday’s runoff, hoping to consolidate support against the far right. Yet keeping it out of government might also allow the far right to thrive in opposition, giving Le Pen momentum in the 2027 presidential race. Should she win, she is likely to name her young protégé as prime minister herself.

Bardella would prefer not to wait.

“The time is now to put at the head of our country leaders who understand you, who respect you and love you as much as they love France,” Bardella said Sunday night in a Parisian venue that bills itself as a throwback to the 1930s. “Victory is possible, and change is within our grasp.”

Virgile Demoustier and Elie Petit contributed to this report.

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Washington

Virginia man charged with defacing monument during Netanyahu protests in DC

Published

1 hour ago

October 4, 2024

Press Room

Virginia man charged with defacing monument during Netanyahu protests in DC

A Virginia man was arrested Friday on a charge that he spray-painted graffiti on a monument in the nation’s capital during protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July.

Zaid Mohammed Mahdawi, 26, of Richmond, Virginia, was charged in a complaint with one count of destruction of federal property. He was among thousands of protesters who gathered in Washington, D.C., on July 24 to condemn Netanyahu’s visit.

Some demonstrators who gathered outside Union Station that day removed American flags and hoisted Palestinian ones in their place. Others burned flags and sprayed graffiti on structures in Columbus Circle, in front of Union Station.

Videos posted on social media showed Mahdawi climbing the statue of Christopher Columbus in the middle of Columbus Circle and using red spray paint to write “HAMAS IS COMIN” on the monument, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. He also spray-painted an inverted red triangle above the slogan, the affidavit says.

The FBI later received a tip from a witness who knew Mahdawi from a Richmond gym and recognized his image in a police bulletin.

A group of protesters had a permit to demonstrate in front of Union Station, but the U.S. Park Police said it revoked the permit after it couldn’t reach protest organizers that afternoon. The National Park Service estimated that it cost more than $11,000 to clean up and fix damage at the site.

“Politically motivated destruction or defacing of federal property is not protected speech, it is a crime,” Matthew Graves, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement.

Mahdawi was expected to make his initial court appearance in Virginia on Friday.

A Maryland woman was arrested last month on a related charge. Isabella Giordano, 20, of Towson, is accused of using red spray paint to write “Gaza” on a fountain in front of Union Station and spray-painting the base of two of the flagpoles in Columbus Circle.

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Washington

Capitals Place Defenseman on Waivers

Published

9 hours ago

October 4, 2024

Press Room

As the Washington Capitals continue to prepare for the 2024-25 NHL season, they are being forced to make tough roster cuts. Plenty of players are hitting the waiver wire, but the Capitals made a surprising move by placing defenseman Ethan Bear on waivers.

The 27-year-old Bear played 24 games with the Capitals in 2023-24 and scored four points (1G-3A). In three preseason games this year, Bear put up a pair of assists.

Today:
Harkins (ANA)
DiPietro, Lettieri, Oesterle (BOS)
Lockwood (FLA)
Ward (LA)
Dowling, Hardman, Laberge, Legare, Willman (NJ)
Lycksell, Richard (PHI)
Bemstrom, Clurman, Gruden, Koppanen, Kral, Ludvig, Poulin (PIT)
Tomkins (TB)
Steeves (TOR)
Bear, Philp, Sgarbossa (WASH)
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 4, 2024

Bear is entering the final year of a contract that earns him $2,062,500 against the salary cap. With the Capitals likely looking to send Bear to the American Hockey League, $915,500 of his salary will still count against the cap.

The Capitals had a stacked lineup of defenders heading into camp, and Bear was going to have his work cut out for him. As a right-shot defenseman, Bear was battling with Matt Roy and Trever van Riemsdyk for a possible role.

In 275 career games at the NHL level, Bear has scored 17 goals and 50 assists for 67 total poinst. Having also spent time with the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Vancouver Canucks, Bear holds a career minus-14 rating.

The rest of the 31 teams around the league will have a chance to claim Bear off waivers and take on the full load on his contract. If a team believes Bear can still be a useful depth defender, they may be willing to take on the deal for a season.

If Bear passes through waivers, the Capitals can freely send him to the AHL where he can start the season with the Hershey Bears.

Along with Bear, the Capitals also placed forward Michael Sgarbossa on waivers.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway OnSI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

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Washington

Unprecedented national title rematch features two retooled teams in Washington and Michigan

Published

17 hours ago

October 4, 2024

Press Room

Unprecedented national title rematch features two retooled teams in Washington and Michigan

The Michigan Wolverines (4-1) will take the field Saturday night in Seattle against the Washington Huskies (3-2) in a rematch of last season’s national championship game. While these two teams played a mere nine months ago, won by Michigan, 34-13 in Houston, Texas, this matchup will be far from familiar.

Each team enters this game looking completely different than last season – both have new head coaches, very different rosters, and regular-season troubles. On top of this, these two teams will meet as Big Ten opponents for the first time ever. After having to watch Michigan bask in the glory of a perfect season, the Huskies are sure to be out for revenge. On top of that, they will be looking for a statement conference win after a surprising loss to Rutgers last weekend. Michigan, on the other hand, will be looking to silence the doubters after near disasters in the second half against USC and Minnesota. Despite last season’s success, both teams are entering this game with a lot to prove.

This will be the first regular-season rematch of a national title game since 2012, and the first one ever to feature new head coaches for both teams.

Washington began retooling its offense by landing QB Will Rogers, who transferred from Mississippi State, where he played four years. He currently leads all active players in career passing yards and has had good numbers thus far. His 1,354 passing yards this season put him in the top 15 in the country, and he has yet to throw an interception in the first five games.

It should be noted, however, that Washington’s three wins this season have come against Weber State, Eastern Michigan and Northwestern, while they have lost to Rutgers and Washington State.

Still, wins are wins and they been led to a trio of them in part to wide receiver Denzel Boston. Rogers has found Boston in the endzone seven times this season, placing him second in the country in receiving touchdowns. Boston is also second in the Big Ten in receiving yards this season, placing him right above teammate Giles Jackson.

Jackson is currently third in the conference for receiving yards but will be looking to make a big impact against his former team this weekend. Jackson served as a wide receiver and kick returner for the Wolverines in the 2019 and 2020 seasons before transferring to Washington. His second game with the Huskies brought him back to the Big House, where he went viral for yelling expletives at Michigan fans following a 31-10 loss. After last season, he now has two losses against his former team. This weekend, he will have a chance to prevent a third.

Why Washington could be ‘a handful’ for Michigan

Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge preview the rematch of last year’s national championship between Michigan and Washington and why the Huskies could be “a handful” for the Wolverines if they put it together.

Washington’s best weapon, however, might be in its run game with junior Jonah Coleman. Coleman transferred from Arizona this past offseason, following head coach Jedd Fisch to Seattle. Coleman is an explosive runner who is lethal in space, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. He is also an asset in the passing game, particularly on checkdown throws. Coleman averages 2.5 catches per game and has over 100 receiving yards on the year.

The weak link in a generally strong Washington offense is the offensive line. This is a far cry from last year, when the Huskies won the Joe Moore Award for the most outstanding offensive line unit. Of the six players who started at least three games for last year’s line, two of them were drafted into the NFL while the other four transferred to other programs. This year’s unit is largely comprised of transfers, and still seems to be struggling to find its footing. Rogers’ ability to throw under pressure, along with Coleman’s fantastic vision and explosive burst, have helped mask some of the line’s issues, but its relative weakness is still evident.

As for Washington’s defense, linebacker Carson Bruener is one of the best players. He has one of the Huskies’ three interceptions on the season and leads the team in tackles. Another one of those interceptions went to cornerback Thaddeus Dixon, who plays opposite Ephesians Prysock. Prysock followed Jedd Fisch from Arizona and is viewed by experts as a potential top-100 NFL draft prospect. On the defensive line, edge rusher Zach Durfee is tied for the team lead with 2.5 sacks on the year. He’s been sidelined at times with a toe injury but Coach Fisch says he is optimistic Durfee will be able to play this weekend.

Moving on to this weekend’s road underdogs, Michigan’s offense features many new faces this year. After the departure of top-10 draft pick JJ McCarthy, Michigan has been left with a void at QB. Instead of seeking an upgrade in the transfer portal, Michigan chose to bank on the development of the players they already had. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, this decision seems to have proven costly.

After throwing six interceptions (and only two touchdowns) in his three games as the starter, former walk-on Davis Warren was benched in favor of the incredibly athletic Alex Orji. Last year, Orji played on rare occasions as a gadget player, running the ball 15 times without throwing a pass. In Orji’s first start against USC this year, last year’s trend continued as he ran the ball more times (and for more yards) than he passed it. Michigan’s struggles in the pass game this year have been incredibly evident as they rank outside the top 120 nationally in several statistical categories, including passing yards per game and interceptions thrown.

If there is one positive through the air, it’s tight end Colston Loveland. The All-American leads the team in both receptions and receiving yards on the season, despite missing a game.

Top impact players: Michigan vs. Washington

Pro Football Focus previews the national championship rematch between No. 10 Michigan and Washington on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, highlighting Alex Oriji, Kalel Mullings, Jonah Coleman, and Will Rogers.

Michigan has always been a run-centric team, but this year that concept has been taken to new heights. The breakout star of the Wolverine’s season has been linebacker turned running back Kalel Mullings. Mullings has been named Michigan’s top RB after a disappointing start to the season from team captain Donovan Edwards, and Mullings has not let the team down. When games have gotten close, Michigan’s strategy has been almost exclusively using Mullings to control the clock and protect the ball. Mullings delivered the game-winning touchdown two weeks ago against ranked Big Ten foe USC in a nailbiter, 24-21, and was given the ball eight times on the drive that resulted in the game-clinching field goal against Minnesota, a 27-24 win. He averages over 100 yards and a touchdown per game, and if Michigan wants to beat Washington, Mullings will need to have a similar output.

Similar to Washington, Michigan’s offensive line is completely different from last year. All six of last year’s starters graduated or went pro, leaving a very new and relatively inexperienced line. Transfer Josh Priebe received All-Big Ten honors at Northwestern last year and serves as the anchor of this year’s O-line. Even with that addition, the unit has still gone through some growing pains as they have adjusted to the new-look Wolverine offense.

The defensive side of the ball is where the Wolverines truly shine. Michigan returned many key pieces of the championship team, mainly cornerback Will Johnson and defensive tackle Mason Graham. Both of these players are projected top picks in next year’s NFL draft and have shown it this year. Johnson set the Michigan career record for pick-6s when he housed his second of the season against USC and is known for delivering the biggest plays in the biggest moments. Graham has also proven to be disruptive, tallying three sacks and 19 tackles on the year. Michigan’s breakout star on the defensive line this year has been defensive end Josiah Stewart. In his second year at Michigan, he leads the team with four sacks, only 1.5 shy of his season total a year ago.

Michigan Wolverines vs. Washington Huskies Game Preview

Here are a few things both sides need to do if they want to win Saturday night.

Washington’s Keys to the Game

1. The offensive line needs to step up. Michigan’s defensive features Graham and Kenneth Walker, two of the strongest defensive tackles in the country. Graham, in particular, is viewed as a potential top pick in next year’s NFL draft. While it may be nearly impossible for Washington’s struggling offensive line to completely stop the two, they need to contain them enough to give Rogers time to throw and get Coleman into space.

2. Slow down Michigan’s rushing attack. Against a team like Michigan, nearly every down can be a running down. With hard hitting linebackers such as Bruener, Washington will benefit greatly from stacking the box on defense, and trusting their corners to cover one-on-one.

3. Limit self-inflicted wounds. Washington’s discipline has shown to be an issue, with the team averaging over eight penalties a game. Penalties – and missed field goals – ended up being a major factor in the loss to Rutgers. Washington’s ability to clean up its game will be crucial in getting the defense off the field, especially against a Michigan team that loves to control the clock and run again and again.

Michigan’s Keys to the Game

1. Get pressure without blitzing. This season, Michigan has blitzed on a high percentage of defensive plays. Going up against a weak Washington line, Michigan should be able to get pressure without rushing more than four players. While the blitz will, of course, need to be a part of the playbook, Michigan getting consistent pressure on four-man rushes would give their defense a game-changing advantage.

2. Have a strong second half. In each of Michigan’s last two games, they entered halftime with a lead only to see their opponent make a strong attempt at a comeback. In last year’s perfect season, Michigan was known for their second-half defense, holding their first 10 opponents to 30 total second-half points. In the second half of their last two games, Michigan was outscored, 42-19. Against a team with explosive potential like Washington, the Michigan defense cannot let up after halftime.

3. Kalel Mullings. It’s hard to argue any one player can make or break a team, but Mullings has been that important. Against USC, he ran for 84 yards and a touchdown on the game-winning final drive. Against Minnesota, he was the one given the ball again and again to run out the clock. At this point, every opponent knows Michigan can only run the ball. No matter what they know, when Mullings is on fire, he cannot be stopped.

How to watch Michigan Wolverines vs. Fresno State Bulldogs

When: Saturday, Oct. 5
Where: Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET (Pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET)
Watch: Peacock and NBC

About the Author:
Ryan Thomas is a senior at the University of Michigan currently studying Film and Psychology. He writes and works on Wolv Sports Center, a series covering a variety of Michigan sports.

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