Heir Jordan: the rising star of France’s populist right
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.6 • 3.6K Ratings
🗓️ 7 November 2025
⏱️ 26 minutes
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Summary
Jordan Bardella, the leader of the National Rally party, has a stonking lead in voting-intention polls. His plans, our correspondent says, would put France on a collision course with the rest of Europe. We examine a new conservation-finance mechanism being trialled in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And reflecting on the life of Dick Cheney, a remarkably consequential American vice-president.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:10.3 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:13.4 | I'm your host, Jason Palmer. |
| 0:15.4 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:29.6 | In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a new conservation scheme is playing out. Our correspondent pays a visit to see how smallish grants are leading to biggish environmental gains. |
| 0:36.6 | And many American vice presidents have an unremarkable tenure out of the spotlight. |
| 0:44.3 | Dick Cheney broke that mold. |
| 0:46.3 | We reflect on the life of the most powerful, the most divisive, the most consequential veep of the modern age. |
| 1:16.0 | First up, though. Last week, I sat down with Zanny Minton Beddoes, our editor-in-chief, and Jordan Baudela, |
| 1:22.1 | who is the 30-year-old protégé of Marine Le Pen, the most popular politician in France, and who has just put out a book, which is now the second best-selling book in France after the asterisk volume. |
| 1:31.6 | Sophie Better is our Paris Bureau Chief. |
| 1:34.0 | We met in his office in Paris, where the RN has its headquarters. |
| 1:38.4 | And given the messy state of French politics today, |
| 1:42.8 | we came away with a real feeling that is someone who |
| 1:45.2 | thinks that he has a real chance of taking power sooner rather than later. |
| 1:51.4 | Now, Sophie, the last time we spoke with you about Mr. Bardella, it was just after Ms. Le Pen |
| 1:55.6 | had banned for running for office because of a European Parliament financing offence. |
| 2:00.2 | She is contesting that. That is still |
| 2:01.7 | somewhat up in the air. What's happened for them since then? Well, the two of them have agreed |
| 2:06.6 | that if the Court of Appeal upholds that ban, he, Jordan Bardella, will be the party's |
| 2:11.3 | candidate for the presidential election in 2027. So that's a big change for him. It's clearly |
| 2:16.4 | not something that he was ready for initially because |
... |
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