The head of the National Rally (RN) list, Jordan Bardella will not participate in a debate organized on April 10 by the France24 channel and RFI radio with a view to the European elections. This is the second one that he has skipped, after a first in mid-March on Public Senate.
The president of the RN will be replaced by the former boss of Frontex, Fabrice Leggeri, AFP learned Tuesday (April 2) from the far-right party, confirming information from Le Parisien.
“The problem with debates is that there are opponents. [Jordan] Bardella has this in common with [Emmanuel] Macron, he prefers monologues”, reacted on X the First Secretary of the PS, Olivier Faure.
In addition to Fabrice Leggeri, seven candidates must participate in the discussions: Manon Aubry (La France insoumise, La gauche), François-Xavier Bellamy (Les Républicains, European People’s Party), Léon Deffontaines (French Communist Party, La gauche), Raphaël Glucksmann (Parti Socialist-Public Square, Socialists and Democrats), Valérie Hayer (Renaissance, Renew), Marion Maréchal (Reconquête!, European Conservatives and Reformists) and Marie Toussaint (Les Ecologists, Les Verts/ALE).
Jordan Bardella had already not come to the first televised European debate organized on March 14 by Public Senate. The RN was the only one not to send its head of list, preferring MEP Thierry Mariani.
Known to be close to Moscow, the latter had been the target of left-wing candidates, accused in particular of being the “little telegraph operator of the Kremlin” by Mr. Glucksmann.
Participants in the debate on April 10 will be questioned on their “vision of European diplomacy, questions of migration, defense and globalization” as well as on the European Green Deal, social Europe, the energy, agricultural and economic crisis, according to the organizers.
European elections: the National Rally wants “
This article is originally published on euractiv.fr
