He insisted his gesture was a โwaveโ that he has frequently used at conferences.
The incident came a month after Elon Musk, the worldโs richest person and a key Trump ally, also made a hand gesture that drew comparisons to a Nazi salute.
Musk dismissed criticism at the time, saying on his X platform: โFrankly, they need better dirty tricks. The โeveryone is Hitlerโ attack is sooo tired.โ
โNazi ideologyโ
Bardella was not present when Bannon โ one of the masterminds of Trumpโs 2016 presidential campaign โ made the gesture.
โI had been invited… to make a speech on the links between the United States and France, as well as the recent electoral dynamic of patriot parties in Europe,โ Bardella said in a statement.
โYesterday, while I was not present in the room, one of the speakers out of provocation allowed himself a gesture alluding to Nazi ideology. I therefore took the immediate decision to cancel my speech that had been scheduled this afternoon,โ he said.
An adviser to Bardella confirmed to AFP that he was speaking about Bannon.
Bardella, 29, took over from Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National (RN) leader in 2022, but the two remain close allies.
The RN has in the past been accused of anti-Semitism and Le Pen has worked to make the party more acceptable.
It won a record number of parliamentary seats in an election last year and Le Pen is expected to be a strong contender in a 2027 presidential election.
Bannon has supported European nationalist parties such as the RN but also frequently courted controversy.
He spent nearly four months in federal prison last year for contempt of a Congress inquiry into the 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
โUnworthy to leadโ
โHeโs unworthy,โ Bannon said of Bardella.
โIf he cancelled it over what the mainstream media said about the speech, he didnโt listen to the speech. If thatโs true heโs unworthy to lead France. Heโs a boy not a man,โ Bannon said in the interview released by Le Point.
Bannon said he did โthat exact same waveโ at a conference of Le Penโs party in France seven years ago.
โIf heโs that worried about it and wets himself like a little child then heโs unworthy and will never lead France.โ
The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish activist group, did not mention Bannonโs gesture but said in a post that Bannon has a โlong and disturbing history of stoking antisemitism and hate, threatening violence, and empowering extremistsโ.
It added: โWe are not surprised, but are concerned about the normalisation of this behaviour.โ
– Agence France-Presse