Europe | The French parliamentary elections 

A hard-right 28-year-old could soon be France’s prime minister

Jordan Bardella is poised, social-media savvy and enigmatic

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Photograph: Getty Images
|PARIS

A DECADE AGO Jordan Bardella was a mere teenager, spending hours after school firing at enemy combatants on “Call of Duty” video games. Today the 28-year-old leader of the hard-right National Rally may be weeks away from becoming prime minister of France, and its youngest ever by a long way. After a two-round legislative election on June 30th and July 7th, his party could win enough seats to form a government. The ascent of Marine Le Pen’s young protégé from obscurity to the cusp of high office is one of the more improbable in modern French politics.

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