Jordan Bardella, the 28-year-old leader of the Rassemblement National (RN), is also the far-right party’s contender for the position of prime minister if they were to obtain an absolute majority in the snap parliamentary elections of June 30 and July 7.

Born in 1995 to Italian immigrant parents, Bardella grew up in the underprivileged Paris suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. He entered politics at age 17, joining the RN party led by Marine Le Pen. His rise within the party was meteoric. After serving as the RN’s spokesperson, he became, at age 23, the party’s lead candidate for the 2019 European elections. And in 2022, he was elected RN president, at age 27, succeeding Le Pen.

Thanks to his youth and a well-crafted social media presence, particularly on TikTok, Le Pen’s protégé has become very popular among young voters. Le Monde explains Bardella’s political ascension with Corentin Lesueur, journalist at Le Monde‘s politics desk.