A violent mob of far-left protesters clashed with Belgian riot police outside the House of Hungary in Brussels on November 13th, attempting to derail the launch of Jordan Bardella’s new book.
The far-left, clearly threatened by Europe’s growing conservative movement, has made silencing free speech their top priority. In this case, they couldn’t stop the leader of France’s largest party, National Rally (RN), and head of the third-largest European Parliamentary bloc, from speaking his mind.
According to L’Echo, hundreds of radical protesters gathered outside the venue, waving rainbow flags and Antifa-style banners. They carried signs like “The extreme-right kills,” a slogan echoing their previous attempts to shut down Europe’s biggest conservative conference earlier this year. The protesters, who hurled bottles and firecrackers at officers, tried to breach the police barricades, prompting riot police to respond with tear gas, water cannons, and batons.
Amid the chaos, the protesters blared through loudspeakers, claiming, “In the face of the rise of fascism and far-right throughout the world, Brussels remains anti-fascist.” This attack on free speech and democracy, however, is nothing new. Bardella’s book, Ce que je cherche (“What I’m Looking For”), has already sparked controversy in France, where bookstores and distributors have been accused of trying to suppress its release. Despite their efforts, the book is now a bestseller on Amazon in France, proving the power of censorship backfiring.
Bardella, who became National Rally’s president at 27, is a key figure in the right-wing wave sweeping Europe. The RN’s victory in the last French parliamentary elections showed just how popular their message is, though mainstream parties blocked their rise to power through political maneuvering. However, with the first round of presidential elections coming up in 2027, Marine Le Pen, Bardella’s predecessor, is likely to make history as France’s first female president.
In Brussels, RN leads the largest national conservative delegation in the European Parliament, part of the third-largest bloc, the Patriots for Europe (PfE), which also includes Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party. Balázs Orbán, political director of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s office, called the protest a “disgrace” to the EU capital, deeming it a typical response from the establishment to any dissenting political voices.
