Is it true to say that Jordan Bardella “is never” in the European Parliament?

While the campaign for the European elections is launched, the president of the Renaissance group in the National Assembly, Sylvain Maillard, assures that Jordan Bardella “is never” in the European Parliament. We can’t say that, the National Rally candidate has an attendance rate of 94%, even if he is less active than his main competitors.

While the campaign for the European elections is well and truly launched, opponents of the National Rally regularly attack the head of the far-right party’s list, Jordan Bardella, on his record in the European Parliament, and in particular on his presence in Strasbourg. “What is Jordan Bardella for? He doesn’t vote on anything, every time there is an important vote, he is never there, he is always in the pool, I wonder if he is a deputy or a lifeguard, he’s never there!”even quips Sylvain Maillard, president of the Renaissance group in the National Assembly, Friday March 8 on Europe 1. True or false?

Jordan Bardella posts an attendance rate of 94%

This is false, we cannot say that Jordan Bardella is never in the European Parliament: his attendance rate, over the last five years, amounts to 94%. This means that on 94% of the votes, in plenary sessions, the head of the RN list was present or excused, that is to say that his absence was justified. This result comes from the assisteu.eu platform, which tracks the activity of MEPs in real time.

For comparison, over the previous mandate, from 2014 to 2019, the average attendance rate of MEPs was 89%. But if we compare to his main competitors for the European elections on June 9, Jordan Bardella is less present in the European Parliament. Valérie Hayer, head of the Renaissance list, Manon Aubry, from France insoumise or even the socialist candidate and Place Publique, Raphaël Glucksmann, are more often in Strasbourg, with an attendance rate between 98 and 99%.

Only 21 amendments in five years

The activity of an MEP, however, is not only measured by their attendance rate, but also by the number of amendments tabled, reports written or even the number of questions asked to the European Commission.

Concerning amendments, another recurring area of ​​criticism from the presidential camp, Jordan Bardella tabled 21 during his mandate (2019-2024), according to a count carried out by the assisteu.eu platform and finalized at the end of year 2023. On the same date, Manon Aubry had filed 3,460 and the Les Republicains candidate François-Xavier Bellamy 1,200, for example. On this point, Jordan Bardella is therefore much less active than his opponents.

Furthermore, Jordan Bardella was not rapporteur for any text during his mandate. He was only a “fictitious” rapporteur for a text on artificial intelligence, that is to say he was tasked by his group with finding a compromise by negotiating with the other political groups. For comparison, the environmentalist candidate Marie Toussaint was rapporteur for three texts, and Manon Aubry for five texts. During question sessions at the European Commission, the National Rally candidate was also less active, with fewer questions asked during his mandate, than his main competitors.