Why is Jordan Bardella so popular in France?

What's so striking, and I I think Zanny. and I discussed this afterwards. after seeing him last week, is that his. his sort of discourse is now incredibly. upbeat. It's about the future. He talks. about AI, he talks about cloud. computing. He's got a whole kind of talk. as a pro-growth discourse, which is. astonishing in many respects. And I. think the reason that that works for. people, it's not just young people, he's. a bit of a celebrity, but it's and we. have, you know, yet to see whether that. really translates into votes, but he is. popular, is the sort of authenticity. He's.

somehow has this. I've been thinking about it. I In a way. I sort of want to call it as a plausible. authenticity because we all know these. things are created, they're. manufactured. He's been coached to smile. and he does it on cue, you know, almost, in conversations. And it He used to be a. very timid timid shy teenager. His. parents had a conversation in a on a. talk show recently where they said, you. know, no, he was very shy. So, he's he's. learned he's learned how to do that. But. to me it's this sort of it's. authenticity that works in politics. It's hard to define. You know it when. you see it and he's got it. And and I.

mean Farage has that as well in spades, right? He's a very different character. and he's much older and he's of a. different generation, but he similarly. Actually, he didn't have to be taught. how to smile. We we tried to find a. picture of him not smiling and it was. really hard. >> We did find one eventually. It's good. that one. Optimism always wins. I mean, remember Obama. >> Does it though? I mean, you know, No, Trump is the Trump's case is saying that. America's terrible and carnage and. things. The thing about Farage that that. struck me is that in a in a recent. interview he he talked about he was. asked when he wants to take Britain back. to. He said 1688 was his example. So, I.

mean, there is a bit of backwards. looking at Zanny. I don't think Bardella. wants to take France back anywhere near. that. I think he's he is genuinely. authentically got political stardom. It. was pretty clear to me that I was. meeting for the first time someone who. had some kind of political magic. What. is the other thing that struck me, and. I'm not sure Sophie whether we talked. about it afterwards, but I think he is. very consciously has learned some of the. elements of the Trumpian approach. He.

was talking about, you know, it was not a kind of remember the France. of France of the past. It was very much. a forward-looking one, but it was, you. know, making effectively making France. great again. And he was pushing a a sort. of positive vision of what France could. be and it was a it was a very in its in. its details was very much a kind of. France first kind of approach, very. disruptive, very dangerous for the EU. If you are angry, if you are one of the. people who is in the situation that we. described at the beginning of this show. and you're fed up with the status quo. and you think it's not working for you. and you're fed up with all these people.

who around bright Paris and can't. form a government. And you see someone. like that, I think I'm not surprised. that people find it compelling.