French football star Kylian Mbappé and far-right leader Jordan Bardella have engaged in a public clash over concerns about the National Rally (RN) winning next year's presidential election. According to The Guardian, Mbappé, who grew up in Paris’s northern suburbs with Algerian and Cameroonian heritage, expressed his worries in an interview with Vanity Fair this week.
Key Takeaways
French football star Kylian Mbappé and far-right leader Jordan Bardella have publicly clashed over concerns about the National Rally (RN) winning next year's presidential election. The dispute highlights broader tensions in France regarding identity and politics ahead of the upcoming elections.
- Kylian Mbappé expressed concern about the RN winning the 2027 presidential election, citing potential consequences for France.
- Jordan Bardella responded with a dig at Mbappé’s departure from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to Real Madrid, noting PSG's subsequent Champions League victory.
- Marine Le Pen found it reassuring that Mbappé did not want her party to win but emphasized voters' independence in their choices.
- Analysts suggest Bardella's response was politically shrewd, though the RN risks alienating moderates by attacking a popular sporting figure.
Mbappé stated: “I know what it means and what consequences it can have for my country when people like them come to power.” This comment has sparked a heated exchange between the football captain and Bardella, president of the anti-immigration National Rally (RN).
The Guardian reported that Bardella responded with a dig at Mbappé’s departure from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to Real Madrid in 2024. “I know what happens when Kylian Mbappé leaves PSG: the club wins the Champions League! (And maybe soon a second time),” Bardella wrote on social media.
The Guardian also noted that Marine Le Pen, leader of the RN, found it reassuring that Mbappé did not want her party to win. She emphasized that football fans are free enough to know who to vote for without being influenced by Mbappé. Julien Odoul, an RN MP and party spokesperson, stated that as the captain of the French team, Mbappé must represent all of France, including the millions of RN voters.
The Guardian highlighted that Bardella could become the party’s presidential candidate this summer if an appeals court upholds Le Pen’s ban on running. The dispute between Mbappé and Bardella is not new; they have a longstanding feud dating back to France’s snap parliamentary election in 2024, when Mbappé called the RN's gains “catastrophic.”
The Guardian, HuffPost, and Reuters all reported that William Thay from the thinktank Le Millénaire suggested Bardella’s response to Mbappé was politically shrewd because the player’s popularity in France had weakened since his PSG exit. However, Thay also noted that the RN risks undermining its electoral strategy by attacking one of France’s biggest sporting stars while doing little to address moderates who fear the party seeks to deepen social divisions.
The Guardian, HuffPost, and Reuters all reported that Mbappé, as the face of a national team often celebrated as a symbol of diversity, has been vocal about his concerns regarding the RN's potential rise to power. He emphasized that even as footballers, they are citizens who have a say in political matters.
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