“When you do politics at the level I do, it is difficult to have a private life (…) We have agreed between the two of us not to hide anymore. I am very happy.” Jordan Bardella, the president of the French far-right party National Rally, 30 years old, has thus made official something that until now was a rumor: his relationship with Princess Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, 22 years old. He did so this Thursday, April 16, on the France 2 television set, after the magazine Paris Match published in its latest issue several photographs of both during a getaway on the island of Corsica.
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Last February they were already seen leaving together from the Grand Palais in Paris, where the 200th anniversary of the newspaper Le Figaro was being commemorated, and getting into the same car. At that time there was no official confirmation and Jordan Bardella limited himself to saying that he protects his private life. In the photographic report of Paris Match, authorized by the couple, they appear again together on the coast of Ajaccio.
“Did you give your consent for those photos to be published or are you going to sue Paris Match?” the program presenter asked the far-right leader at the end of the broadcast. “When you do politics at the level I do, it is difficult to have a private life. I have always protected my private life, but for months now we have been harassed by paparazzi, they camp at my door and follow us on our outings. So, on this trip to Corsica, the two of us agreed not to hide anymore,” Bardella replied.
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The journalist insisted on whether they knew the photographer was present, as it is clear the images are not stolen. “Yes, we knew and we accepted it, we knew they had followed us for several weeks. I do politics for France and the French and I hope to be judged on the ideas I defend. In any case, today I can say that I am very happy,” he answered with a smile.
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As Paris Match headlines, it is “the romance no one expected.” That of the far-right leader, who has always criticized “the political elite that despises the French,” now dating an aristocrat. Maria Carolina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is the daughter of Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Duchess of Calabria and Palermo, and now an influencer, she grew up in a privileged environment, between Paris, Rome, and Monaco, and speaks several languages. Jordan Bardella’s story is quite different: grandson of immigrants, he was born in Drancy, a suburb of Paris, and has always claimed his humble origins against the political elite that, he denounces, President Emmanuel Macron represents.
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It is not the first time that Paris Match immortalizes presidential romances on its cover. In 2007, it already made official the relationship between former president Nicolas Sarkozy and singer Carla Bruni, when he had just arrived at the Élysée. However, many media believe that behind the exclusive there is an intentional media campaign to strengthen Bardella’s figure ahead of the 2027 presidential elections. The party leader, Marine Le Pen, is disqualified after being convicted in a case of embezzlement of public funds. Although she is awaiting the appeal ruling, it is very likely that she will not be able to run in the election and the candidate would then be Bardella, who leads the polls ahead of the elections.
One of his party colleagues, Sébastien Chenu, declared this week about the relationship: “They make a beautiful couple (…) I am happy that his girlfriend, who could become the first lady of France, is a woman who speaks six languages.”
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