As Jordan Bardella, president of the Rassemblement National (RN), faces attacks on his inexperience, a sociologist notes that his voters value life experience more than formal competencies. A recent JDD poll ranks Bardella among the top favorite political figures, signaling rising popularity on the far right. These debates arise ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Sociologist Félicien Faury, author of Des électeurs ordinaires. Enquête sur la normalisation de l’extrême droite (Seuil, 2024), based on fieldwork in southeastern France from 2016 to 2022, analyzes the impact of criticisms against Jordan Bardella. According to him, attacking the RN president for his lack of diploma risks strengthening his electorate. « For the RN electorate, competence matters less than life experience », Faury explains in an interview with Le Monde. RN voters express strong distrust toward the political world, seen as disconnected. « Those who govern us do not live like us, do not have the same concerns », they summarize, highlighting a class distance.
On the right, the presumed incompetence of Marine Le Pen deterred some voters despite agreement on immigration, Faury notes. In contrast, for RN supporters, shared experience takes precedence.
One incident illustrates these vulnerabilities: on June 24, 2024, during a press conference, Bardella improvises on the RN promise to ban dual nationals from certain public jobs, included in the 'national priority' project since 2022. Unprepared by his team, he invents a « list of strategic positions » to counter « interferences ». The prime ministerial candidate later admitted his lack of preparation.
Despite this, a Journal du dimanche (JDD) poll from January 4, 2026, conducted by the CSA institute (owned by Vincent Bolloré) after breaking with IFOP, ranks Bardella 4th among French favorite personalities, ahead of Marine Le Pen (7th). Marion Maréchal (30th) and Philippe de Villiers (37th) enter for the first time, followed by Nicolas Sarkozy, Éric Zemmour, and Sarah Knafo, ahead of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The JDD comments: « For those who doubted it, France leans strongly to the right ». This survey, overseen by CNews DG Serge Nedjar, reflects internal tensions in the Bolloré group.
Left and right are thus seeking the best angle of attack against Bardella, whose 2027 candidacy depends on a potential impediment for Le Pen. These dynamics highlight the growing normalization of the far right.
