Forced to wait his turn, Marine Le Pen's deputy Bardella returns to the shadows - BBC News

Thirty-year-old Jordan Bardella had been groomed for success as France's next hard-right leader. He will now have to wait longer.

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Many noted Bardella's muted enthusiasm when he appeared this week alongside Marine Le Pen

A stern-looking Jordan Bardella squinted in the sun as a reporter asked him whether he was relieved or disappointed that he would not be the 2027 presidential candidate for the National Rally (RN).

"Neither," he said in a flat voice during a campaign event in the village of La Flèche. "I am glad Marine can represent us. We will work together hand in hand like we've always done."

The previous evening his mentor Marine Le Pen announced she would run for the presidency next year, and not him. In the space of 20 minutes on primetime TV on Tuesday, she put an end to the prospect of handing the party's candidacy to her protege.

Thirty-year-old Bardella has had a dizzying career up the RN ranks, but he was always measured about his prospects of becoming president.