"It's not a battle": Jordan Bardella affirms working "hand in hand" with Marine Le Pen

"Not a battle." National Rally President Jordan Bardella denied any tension between him and Marine Le Pen after an exchange of barbs over the New Caledonian issue .

"This is not a battle, this is not a pop quiz, this is not a battle over who is best placed on the issue," declared the president of the National Rally during a trip to Ajaccio, Corsica.

Jordan Bardella also claims to be "working hand in hand" with Marine Le Pen "to provide answers to the French people."

These statements come after tensions began to flare between the president of the far-right party and the leader of the National Rally (RN) deputies. During a visit to New Caledonia, Marine Le Pen declared that she wanted to "participate" in the upcoming consultations on the archipelago's institutional future, convened by President Emmanuel Macron.

Asked about the possibility of being accompanied by Jordan Bardella, the latter said she was "not sure that Jordan (Bardella), for the moment, knows the problems of New Caledonia very well. We share our talents, let's say."

The person concerned responded to journalists on Thursday morning: "I won't get involved in the one-liner contest. You're extrapolating the response she gave to your colleague."

"She is involved in (the New Caledonia issue), she is in the best position, but I assure you, I am familiar with overseas issues (...) She is not saying that I am not familiar with the issue, you are taking this sentence out of context," added Jordan Bardella.

Invited this Friday morning on BFMTV and RMC, the leader of the RN deputies assured that there was "no friction" between her and Jordan Bardella, denying any "tackle" against him and reiterating "her confidence in her work." "I assure you, things are going very well between us," she added.

Despite her conviction at first instance in the case of the National Front's European parliamentary assistants, Marine Le Pen said she was "convinced" that she would be a candidate in the 2027 presidential election.