He thanked Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen “for their trust.” Indeed, Brice Bernard, chairman of the National Rally (RN) in Savoie, has just announced his candidacy from the right-wing party in Chambéry. “After months of meetings and going door to door”, he wants to “serve his city”, we can read in X on Tuesday.
But the “entrepreneur”, as he defines himself, was identified as the “scapegoat” of the RN – a heterogeneous group of candidates whose comments could be described as racist, conspiratorial or discriminatory.
Brice Bernard, 40, was much photographed in his thirties, when he was secretary of the National Youth Front for Chambéry, the town where he ran for office. This photo, revealed by the online media StreetPress, shows him wearing a gray shirt, smiling and making dumplings.
An anti-Semitic attitude
Quenelle, created by Brice Bernard, an anti-Semitic “anti-system” gesture, was popularized by Dieudonné, a comedian who was convicted several times, mainly for “provocation of hatred” or “racial discrimination”.
Brice Bernard said he saw “no anti-Semitic connotation” and “no sympathy for Dieudonné” in his signal to StreetPress. This media also revealed his imitation of Asian people, with his eyes closed and chopsticks in his hand, in a photo entitled “Racism and caricatures”.
Once again, his “friendship” on Instagram with Frédéric Chatillon was highlighted – a man close to denialist circles, in particular with Dieudonné, the far-right activist and former executive of the violent Union Defense Group (GUD).
Other RN candidates referred to as “bad apples” were nominated for municipal elections. For example, Virginie Joron in Strasbourg, who was once blacklisted by the European Parliament for her pro-Russian stance, or Thomas Lutz in Besançon, for using Nazi expressions in the regional council.
