French far-right leader cancels CPAC speech over Steve Bannon’s ‘Nazi’ salute

<p>Jordan Bardella calls off US address after former Trump aide makes controversial gesture with outstretched arm onstage</p><p>The French far-right leader Jordan Bardella on Friday morning cancelled a scheduled speech at the US Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump">Donald Trump</a>’s former aide Steve Bannon flashed an apparent fascist-style salute there hours before.</p><p>Bannon, who helped Trump win office in 2016 and is now a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2024/jun/24/steve-bannon-war-room-republican">popular rightwing podcast show host</a>, finished his CPAC speech on Thursday with an outstretched arm, fingers pointed and palm down – a sign that echoed both the Nazi salute and a controversial <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/20/trump-elon-musk-salute">gesture made</a> by the tech billionaire <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a> at the US president’s second inauguration in January.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/21/steve-bannon-jordan-bardella-nazi-salute-cpac">Continue reading...</a>