Is Jordan Bardella already dreaming of becoming president? Or is the chair of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party just taking a page out of Emmanuel Macron's playbook when it comes to preparing TV appearances? During a debate on May 2 with Valérie Hayer, the lead candidate for Macron's coalition in the European election, Bardella recycled several lines spoken by Macron in May 2017 during a presidential debate with Marine Le Pen: "I don't need a ventriloquist," "You're not the candidate of the spirit of finesse," "It's very sad for you, it shows, no doubt, your unpreparedness on the substantive issues." The surprising imitation, compiled by the TV show Quotidien and widely shared on social media, initially made some people at the RN smile. Then it worried those who, seven years earlier, had seen nothing but contempt in Macron's remarks to their candidate.

As soon as the debate with Hayer was over, Bardella admitted to his entourage that he sometimes felt "at the limit of being mean." In the days that followed, several people close to him reminded him of the risks of excessive arrogance, an accusation the far-right party usually makes against Macron to portray themselves as better knowing and defending "the people." The lesson seems not to have been learned.

During a debate with the eight top candidates in the election, held on Tuesday, May 21, on LCI, the president of the RN took pleasure in quoting the parody spy film OSS 117 – "It is time to grow up" – against his competitor Léon Deffontaines. He mocked Deffontaines for being "a Communist in 2024." Some on Bardella's have warned him that such an inclination would be perilous on May 23 against Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who they judge to be "rather likable and not irritating."

Officially, then, the plan is to prioritize "humility" in Tuhrsday's face-off. Attal's most likely angles of attack – the anti-Semitism of the party's founder Jean-Marie Le Pen; the party's dilettantism in the European Parliament; the defense of Vladimir Putin and other autocrats by its MEP Thierry Mariani – have been prepared. In return, Bardella is ready to denounce what he calls the consequences of "Macron's Europe." Even before the debate happens, RN officials are already claiming a "victory" for the very existence of the joust. They believe it is proof of the "ticket" strategy that Le Pen has tirelessly pursued since January, presenting herself as the aspiring president and Bardella as her prime minister.

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