Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leading left-wing candidate for next year’s election, also said Bardella would turn France into a “gatekeeper” for the U.K. “This wasn’t France speaking, it was a fascist with no reputation and no standing,” he added during a campaign rally on Saturday.
Gabriel Attal, the leader of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, said Bardella “either doesn’t understand English, or is shockingly weak when it comes to defending French interests.”
Edouard Philippe, the leading center-right candidate in the race, also mocked the Bardella-Farage agreement.
“We didn’t see that one coming,” he said on X.
Even the National Rally’s competitors on the far right called out the accord.
“Jordan Bardella agrees to take in foreigners on our soil whom Great Britain does not want,” said Eric Zemmour, the leader of the anti-immigrant party Reconquest. “Having allies must NEVER come at any price — especially not at the expense of the integrity of our borders and our people.”