French far-right leader Bardella to address Reform UK conference
National Rally leader Jordan Bardella will speak at Reform UK's conference in Birmingham next week, deepening ties with Nigel Farage's party ahead of France's presidential election next spring.
Jordan Bardella, leader of France's far-right National Rally (RN), will address Reform UK's party conference in Birmingham next Friday and hold a joint press conference with party leader Nigel Farage. The visit comes as Bardella seeks to build international ties ahead of Marine Le Pen's bid for the French presidency next spring.
Opinion polls show Le Pen's anti-immigration party performing strongly, with predictions she will reach the final round of the presidential race in May. Le Pen launched her campaign this summer despite a Paris appeal court upholding her conviction over the embezzlement of more than €2.8m in European parliament funds, which was funnelled into her party between 2004 and 2016. She has appealed the ruling to France's highest court. Le Pen has said she intends to run on a joint ticket with Bardella, who would serve as prime minister if she wins.
Bardella, 30, and Farage, 62, held a private lunch in London late last year to discuss anti-immigration policy. Bardella said afterwards he hoped Farage would become Britain's next prime minister, describing a shared determination between the two to curb immigration and protect national identity. Bardella, a member of the European parliament and RN president, has backed closer police cooperation between London and Paris over Channel crossings, while insisting migrants should be returned to their countries of origin rather than to France.
Relations between Le Pen and Farage have not always been smooth. In 2014, the two were rivals for leadership of the eurosceptic camp in the European parliament, and Farage rejected a proposed coalition with Le Pen's party, then called Front National, citing prejudice and antisemitism within it. Meanwhile, Farage was recently re-elected in a byelection in Clacton, but parliament's standards commissioner has reopened an investigation into whether he properly declared gifts he received before the last general election, including a £5m gift from a cryptocurrency billionaire and support from a friend convicted of fraud.
