The essentials
Bardella is the only candidate for re-election as National Rally president at its Orléans congress.
The National Rally is holding its national congress in Orléans, Loiret, on 24 and 25 October 2026. The reporting describes the party as far-right. Jordan Bardella is the sole candidate for re-election as RN president, so no rival name has been put forward for the post.
The congress takes place during a weekend when a counter-demonstration against racism and fascism is planned in Orléans. Authorities have mobilized 3,000 police officers to secure the event, and the prefect has banned demonstrations over a wide perimeter in Orléans on Sunday, 25 October. The available material does not state whether the congress itself is affected by that restriction.
Separately, Marine Le Pen is scheduled to hold her first major campaign rally on 25 October. The reporting does not set out the content of her planned remarks or the agenda the party will adopt at the congress.
Each of these facts rests on a single report, so the schedule and details should be read as provisional.
Other ways to read this story.
Alternative framings generated by SigNews. These are not independent sources or attributed quotations.
Congress Weekend Sets Bardella Vote Alongside Le Pen's Rally Schedule
Viewed as a sequence, the weekend runs from the congress opening on 24 October to a scheduled Le Pen rally on 25 October. With Jordan Bardella as the sole candidate for re-election, the leadership question is uncontested. The prefect's Sunday demonstration ban in Orléans falls on the same day as the rally, a timing the reporting does not explain.
Party Leadership Question Settled as Le Pen Turns Toward Campaigning
From a campaign-focused view, the congress is the party's internal step before its public push. An uncontested leadership vote lets the party present a single name for the presidency, and Le Pen's first major rally on 25 October marks the move from the congress into public campaigning. Supporters may read continuity in this sequence, while critics may see an uncontested vote as limiting debate. The sources report no dispute over the nomination.