Boyish but radical, Jordan Bardella is the protege Marine Le Pen was waiting for | Britta Sandberg

National Rally’s staunchly anti-immigrant 23-year-old is aiming for younger voters – and a seat at the European parliament

The task was simple and at the same time a bit silly: in a recent French TV debate, each of the 12 leading candidates for next month’s European parliament elections was asked to bring an object that symbolised Europe for them. The conservative candidate with the Les Républicains party brought a copy of Homer’s Odyssey; the leftist politician Raphaël Glucksmann brought a piece of the Berlin wall.

Jordan Bardella, the lead candidate for Marine Le Pen’s rightwing populist National Rally, held up a red kitchen sieve to the camera. He was quite earnest as he did so, and it made for a rather absurd contrast: a young man in a suit, with his boyish face and slicked-back hair making him look not unlike a bank trainee, clutching a kitchen utensil.

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2J6qX3g