It took BFM-TV half an hour to address a European topic on Thursday, May 2, during the debate the channel organized between Jordan Bardella and Valérie Hayer, lead candidates in the European elections. It took an extra hour for the ruling coalition's candidate to enter a duel she had, by this stage, already lost. With five weeks to go to the polls on June 9, Hayer had to go on the offensive to try and catch up with the far-right candidate, who is well ahead of her in the polls (32% versus 17%, according to the IPSOS-CEVIPOF survey for Le Monde). But she struggled, both in terms of content and form, to challenge Bardella on his weak points. The president of Rassemblement National (RN) found a more flexible adversary than Raphaël Glucksmann, the Socialist's top candidate, who had pushed him to the limit in a debate on April 12.
Presenter Benjamin Duhamel's first request of the candidates – describing a quality and a flaw of their opponent – immediately established the intentions of the two debaters. Hayer, more aggressive, tried to denounce the RN's European policies: The flaw she chose was "duplicity," and the quality, "the nerve to state so many lies with such confidence." Bardella's goal, meanwhile, was to preserve his lead in the polls and reassure conservatives. He wanted to be a good sport but was usually mocking: "I have a lot of respect for you. You're brave because you represent Emmanuel Macron's record and you stood as a candidate."
The far-right leader then went on to deliver a series of light-hearted, sarcastic jokes, reflecting his relative ease in a place and context he knows far better than his competitor. With an audacity bordering on arrogance, Bardella said at the end of the debate: "I have the impression that Ms. Hayer has trouble with European topics." It's an ironic assessment given that the candidate was hardly noticed during his previous European Parliament mandate.
Bardella had the advantage of starting the debate with two topics playing to his hand, though chosen by the channel, and having no connection with the European ballot: "youth hyperviolence" and the revolt of Sciences Po Paris students against the war in Gaza. On these two subjects, Hayer refused for a long time to cut Bardella off, allowing him to unfold his arguments. They included a denunciation of anti-Semitism, an issue on which his party is vulnerable. After an hour of debate, Hayer was four minutes behind schedule, buried under her opponent's words.
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