Overview

• Early June revelations by the online outlet Les Jours showed several RN deputies and party leaders joined Facebook groups promoting racist, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim or homophobic content.
• Posts including “Les Arabes dehors” and “La France est dirigée par les juifs sionistes” appeared in the “La France avec Jordan Bardella” Facebook group.
• RN general secretary Renaud Labaye confirmed to AFP that he issued a follow-up WhatsApp message this week directing deputies to leave the flagged Facebook groups.
• Vice-president Sébastien Chenu had earlier assured that RN deputies would quit or had already quit the problematic Facebook groups after the initial outcry.
• LFI deputy Thomas Portes filed a complaint under Article 40 with the Paris prosecutor’s office over the party’s association with these groups, amplifying the backlash.