Rassemblement national president Jordan Bardella launched the party's municipal campaign on Saturday in Agde and Carcassonne, not ruling out union lists in the second round against the risk of an extreme left victory. He reaffirmed support for Marine Le Pen, on trial in appeal for fake jobs, and said he is preparing to become head of government. These statements come ahead of the March 15 and 22 municipal elections.
Jordan Bardella, president of the Rassemblement national (RN), began his first tour dedicated to the municipal elections on Saturday, February 7, 2026, visiting Agde in Hérault and Carcassonne in Aude. In Agde, he supported RN candidate Aurélien Lopez-Liguori at a local market, amid a scandal involving the former mayor suspected of granting public benefits to a ventriloquist medium. Thousands of supporters cheered Bardella, securing selfies, but without direct exchanges with him.
Questioned by the press, Bardella did not rule out, 'on a case-by-case basis,' 'union lists' or 'rally lists' in the second round of the municipals, if there is a 'danger of seeing the extreme left seize a number of municipalities.' 'Regarding the second round, we will obviously do it case by case. (...) I am not closed to there being discussions on potential union lists or rally lists in the second round,' he said on BFMTV. He specified that such alliances would depend on shared positions on security, public accounts, secularism, traditions, and identity.
Bardella also reiterated his support for Marine Le Pen, on trial in appeal since January 13 in Paris with ten RN executives for European parliamentary assistants benefiting only the party. The attorney general requested five years of ineligibility against her, which could jeopardize her 2027 presidential candidacy. 'We are preparing together, hand in hand, to exercise the highest functions of the State,' Bardella affirmed, adding: 'until further notice, I am preparing to be head of government.' He stressed the wish for Le Pen to carry the RN's colors, with judicial circumstances determining the candidate.
An Odoxa poll published Thursday by Le Figaro shows that 69% of RN sympathizers consider Bardella a better candidate than Le Pen for 2027. The RN aims to conquer as many municipalities as possible on March 15 and 22 to prove that 'change does not wait for the presidential election.'
