Self-portraits, catchy music and flattering montages: Jordan Bardella, young president of the French far-right National Rally (RN) party, is all the rage on TikTok among young people, with a well-rehearsed strategy in view of the legislative elections which could bring him to power.
Expected to lead the government in the event of his camp’s victory, the 28-year-old leader has established himself as one of the most followed French politicians on the network popular with young people where he has 1.6 million subscribers.
The boss of the RN, whose party is the favorite in the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7, for example, displays his passion for Haribo candies or his love of sulphite-free rosé, while avoiding speaking from the bottom of his heart. program.
“He’s funny, he has the same references as me,” said Maya, 18, who followed Mr. Bardella’s European campaign on June 9 on social media, from which the RN came out. big winner with 31.4% of the votes.
“I don’t have the feeling that I’m hearing gibberish about things that happened before I was born, it’s talking about the present,” adds this high school student from the Parisian suburbs who is not very political but who voted for her list.
“It wasn’t in my values, I didn’t particularly feel good afterwards, but Bardella was the only credible candidate,” she believes.
Like her, 25% of voters aged 18 to 24 voted for the RN during this election, according to the Ipsos institute, and 22% of voters in this age group intend to give it their vote in the legislative elections, according to an Elabe poll published last week.
Little hearts
Jordan Bardella “is the only one who has incorporated the codes of authenticity into his video content,” explains Tristan Boursier, researcher at Sciences Po Paris and specialist in the far right, for AFP.
Alongside classic political communication content where Jordan Bardella appears in a suit, many videos “feature him off-screen, in his private life drinking pastis, preparing for a meeting where he is uncomfortable », Explains the expert. “It makes him likeable, human and presents him as authentic. »
Conversely, other political figures like Manon Aubry, former head of the France Insoumise (LFI, radical left) list in the European elections, have content more focused on the program and ideas, notes Mr. Boursier.
Amateur montages with hearts and stars against a background of catchy sounds highlighting Jordan Bardella’s physique have also flourished on the network.
Alongside these “fan edits”, inspired by the world of K-pop, the candidate himself participates in TikTok trends, such as the humorous “Point of View” POV videos during his campaign trips.
“He is a young political personality, so he can play on mimicry and the mirror effect between him and the main audience of TikTok,” summarizes Marie Neihouser, researcher at the University of Toulouse, for AFP.
These short and depoliticized formats also make it possible to avoid substantive questions by focusing on the person of Bardella and to avoid the contradiction that could arise in traditional media with the presence of journalists, she analyzes.
Bet on the future
This personalization offers them the opportunity to free themselves from the potentially repulsive image of the RN among young people and to “implement the RN standardization strategy on a personal level,” adds the researcher.
“I don’t think that all the people who follow him are necessarily convinced people,” puts into perspective a TikTok spokesperson for whom the millions of “Likes” that Jordan Bardella has on the platform are not necessarily synonymous with voting or membership.
But with TikTok, Jordan Bardella is also and above all banking on his future political career.
“Today’s teens will be tomorrow’s voters. By socializing them now with its content, it anchors its image in their minds,” she concludes.