There is nothing like a good love story

Green MEP Yannick Jadot is the new most liked politician in France

Leader of the Greens, Yannick Jadot has been an MEP for 10 years already. Hardly enough to be a well-known political personality.  But after allowing the Greens to rise from 8,9 % in 2014 to 13,4 %, he has just become the French sweetheart.

According to a popularity poll, Jadot has become over the week France’s most liked politician, with 32% of support. It’s quite unique for an MEP, let alone a Green MEPs: positive opinion towards him has jumped 20% in just one week, and he now enjoys even more popularity than Emmanuel Macron, whose score is around 30%.

His obvious joy about getting a better score than expected was definitely visible on Sunday night. But there is another reason why people suddenly fell for him: a love story.

During election night, he revealed his relationship with a journalist from RTL, Isabelle Portella, at the end of his short speech. “I couldn’t have done that without her”, he said.

As an environment editor, she has fought the same fight as him, and that’s how the two met two years ago on a TV program. She has helped him during the campaign, on strategy and writing his speeches.

On Monday, she was badly attacked on social networks for hiding her relationship with him, and had to quit her job.

And she decided to get into politics.

This outing was kind of planned, and Paris Match got the first picture of the couple holding hands on election night.

But it was the story that touched everyone.

After a tough and slightly depressing campaign with a lot of violence against and between candidates, this love story comes as a breath of fresh air.