PARIS, May 13 (Reuters) - A public quarrel between two of France’s most famous young men - one a soccer player, the other a darling of the far right - over a possible National Rally (RN) victory in next year’s presidential election has reignited in public.
Their disagreements are a microcosm of a broader struggle over France’s identity and future ahead of next year’s election, with an anti-immigration nationalist RN candidate favourite.
Just three years separate Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe, 27, and RN party chairman Jordan Bardella, 30 - but politically they are poles apart.
Mbappe, who comes from a working-class suburb of Paris that is home to many immigrant families, is the face of a national team often celebrated as a symbol of diversity and which many tip to win this summer’s World Cup.
Bardella represents the future of a once-taboo far-right party that has notched major gains with its pledges to enforce border controls and restructure welfare to prioritise French citizens.
