21-05-2025
‘French Oprah' coaxes out politicians' softer side — for better or worse
Millions of television viewers will watch Marine Le Pen's protégé Jordan Bardella shed a tear when his father publicly declares that he loves him on a pre-recorded chat show to air next month.
Bardella is one of several French politicians who have done heart-to-heart interviews with Karine Le Marchand, who is often described as France's answer to Oprah Winfrey.
In the programme, Ambition intime (Intimate Ambition), Gérald Darmanin, the tough-talking justice minister, also reveals his softer side by acknowledging that his mother still buys his underwear and socks.
Bardella, president of the hard-right National Rally party, denies being an obsessive germaphobe but admits that he always cleans his shower with a squeegee after he uses it.
Journalists were invited to a preview of the show's
