Historically, the complex dynamic of ad hoc, last-minute alliances that shape local elections in France’s two-round system has worked against the National Rally, with the far right accusing the rest of the political class of conspiring to keep it out of power. But its leaders now hope they can break that glass ceiling ahead of next year’s presidential race. During his speech at the rally, Bardella’s message to France’s conservative party was simple: “Join us,” he said. “We are facing a wall that is being built against us,” Jacobelli told POLITICO on the sidelines of the rally. “It is not a glass ceiling, it is a reflex of self-preservation” from other parties. The first round of local elections on Sunday delivered mixed results for the poll-topping, far-right party, highlighting how a decisive breakthrough still eludes Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella and their allies in France’s biggest cities. | Marion Solletty/POLITICO During Bardella’s speech, a small group overcome by enthusiasm chanted “Jor-dan president, Jor-dan president” — forgetting for the moment that Marine Le Pen, who had …