Born in 1995, Jordan Bardella grew up in the Paris suburbs under the care of his single mother Luisa, who came to France from Italy.

Bardella often highlights the financial challenges his mother faced, yet his father Olivier, also of Italian heritage, ran a successful drinks distribution company from the upscale town of Montmorency. This background weakens the story of early hardship that Bardella uses to connect with more voters.

Neither parent showed strong political leanings, and Bardella persuaded his mother to let him join the National Front at age 17 in 2012. He rose fast, becoming departmental secretary at 19 and a regional councillor for the Paris area at 20. He left university early to focus on politics full time.

Bardella later credited his decision to join the party to admiration for Marine Le Pen, who assumed leadership in 2011 and worked to shift the movement from the fringes toward mainstream respectability.

"There's something about her that others don't have," Bardella noted in 2021. "She has a character, an energy... a courage that speak to me."

The interest proved mutual. Bardella gained entry to the party's inner circle through ties to the daughter of longtime National Front figure Frederick Chatillon, and by 2017 Le Pen appointed him as a spokesman.

In 2019 he became the second-youngest MEP in the European Parliament, and at 27 he was chosen as president of the RN while already among its most prominent members.

In 2024 Bardella appeared set for another advance when National Rally captured 33 percent in the first round of a snap parliamentary vote, placing him close to the role of prime minister.

A centre-left alliance prevailed in the runoff, yet Bardella's popularity has held steady over the past two years, with his approval rating at 40 percent compared to Le Pen's stable 39 percent.

Much of Bardella's draw stems from his ability to reach a broad swath of voters.

Lecturer Pierre-Henri Tavoillot describes Bardella as "a huge question mark." "His ideological make-up is unclear... and his smooth image allows him to cast a wide net."

He uses familiar RN themes on immigration and populism to assure longtime Le Pen backers of continuity.

Through social media accounts that reach two million followers, he connects with younger supporters.

His partnership with Italian socialite Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies adds a touch of glamour, while he still emphasizes his modest roots.

He meets business figures and pledges relief from what he calls an "unbearable fiscal and regulatory straitjacket." He supports renegotiating France's EU ties to satisfy Eurosceptics yet insists he seeks no destruction, which reassures moderates.

Sociologist Raphael Llorca, who has examined RN voters, calls Bardella an "incredible blank canvas": "Each group projects its ideal image of what its candidate for 2027 should be or could be" onto him.

Although flexible with audiences, Bardella has stayed close to RN positions on most issues. Surprise arose when he opposed lowering the retirement age, a traditional RN goal, and instead favored linking full pensions to at least 42 years of contributions. Older party members, including Le Pen, voiced concern, and the issue awaits resolution.

On core matters such as immigration, Bardella aligns closely with Le Pen and the party line.

He seeks to limit immigrant benefits and end birthright citizenship, while distinguishing between those born in France who "reject republican institutions like the police or values like secularism" and others, such as his own parents, who "do everything to become French."

In a BBC interview last year Bardella stated that mass immigration was "shaking the balance of European countries, of Western societies, and namely French society" and that his first act as president would be a referendum on immigration to "allow France to take back control of [its] borders."

He has not discussed the constitutional limits on referendums for immigration, which would require an amendment needing an absolute parliamentary majority or sufficient allies.

The party's earlier call for a complete break with the EU and the euro has been set aside. Bardella nevertheless views the EU as "profoundly old-fashioned" and "obsolete," and he aims to revise membership terms.

He promises to retain France in the EU electricity market while seeking changes to pricing rules that would cut costs. In June he told Politico he would halve France's EU budget contribution, saving roughly 10 billion euros.

Obstacles remain, including the fact that the EU's long-term budget will be approved months before the 2027 election. Still, the plan reflects Bardella's stated aim to "change everything [in the EU] without destroying anything."

He has adopted a comparable stance toward NATO. France belongs to the alliance's integrated command, which Bardella said Paris would exit, though not while the Ukraine conflict continues.

He labeled Emmanuel Macron's idea of extending French nuclear protection to European partners a possible "national betrayal" and rejected any sharing of nuclear arms.

Outside France, Bardella has strengthened links with Europe's nationalist right, consulting Italy's Giorgia Meloni, whom he often praises as an example, and Poland's PiS opposition, aiming for a "new European architecture" and the "largest possible" nationalist group in Brussels.

He has also noted "common ground" with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and has sought distance from US President Donald Trump, whom he described as "erratic."

Ahead of the Le Pen ruling, Bardella managed a careful balance, projecting readiness for the presidency while signaling willingness to step aside if Le Pen can run.

He spoke of remaining "calm and ready to accept the consequences."

This path may mean resuming a supporting role to his mentor or suddenly assuming leadership for the RN's next and possibly most decisive electoral challenge.