Spotlight falls on 'right-hand man'

The court ruling barring Marine Le Pen from running for president has turned the spotlight once more on her right-hand man, Jordan Bardella, as debate swirls over who might end up representing the far right in France's 2027 presidential race.

- Ashifa Kassam

While Le Pen plans to appeal against yesterday's court ruling, the process could drag on for months or years. Polls had long suggested that Le Pen, who leads the far-right National Rally (RN) group in France's national assembly, was among contenders to succeed the president, Emmanuel Macron, after his final term ends.

If Le Pen cannot run in 2027, most expect Bardella, her 29-year-old protege who succeeded her as the party's president in 2021, to be the candidate. That would mark a dramatic new era for France and - far-right politics aside - may seem unthinkable for many voters. When Macron was elected in 2017, he was 39, the youngest president in the history of the Fifth Republic.