Nicolas Sarkozy on Jordan Bardella

Nicolas Sarkozy has adopted a position signaling openness to collaboration with Jordan Bardella and the far-right National Rally (RN), marking a significant shift from his earlier adversarial stance. This evolution is evidenced by the former president holding direct talks with Bardella in his Paris office and expressing that the RN is “not a danger” to France. He explicitly stated in his book that he would refuse to support a united front against the RN in a future election, which contrasts sharply with his 2022 call to back his centrist rival against Marine Le Pen. Bardella, for his part, publicly supported Sarkozy after his conviction and imprisonment, noting a shared experience in the "judicial context."

This approach is framed by Sarkozy as a necessary strategy for rebuilding the French right through a broad “spirit of gathering together in the broadest sense possible, with no exclusions.” He noted proudly that many of the current RN voters were once on his side, an outcome rooted in his earlier political strategy of adopting far-right themes. The relationship is further cemented by warm correspondence from RN figures, like Sébastien Chenu, and Sarkozy's own belief that excluding the RN is a mistake, as they respect democratic functioning and represent many French people.