In a significant escalation of tensions within French politics, the far-right National Rally (RN) party has expressed outrage following police raids at its headquarters, aimed at investigating allegations of fraudulent campaign financing. The party's president, Jordan Bardella, denounced the operation as a "spectacular and unprecedented" act, framing it as a serious challenge to democratic principles and pluralism.
The raids, which occurred amid an inquiry into potential fraud linked to the party's campaign finances for the elections of 2022 and 2024, have sparked claims from RN leaders of a "new harassment campaign" by the authorities. Bardella, who was attending a session in Strasbourg during the raid, criticized the operation as a blatant abuse of power, accusing law enforcement of seizing internal documents under dubious pretenses.
Former party treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just echoed these sentiments, asserting the party's innocence and expressing disbelief over the ongoing scrutiny that he described as a daily persecution. He emphasized that all RN campaign accounts have been approved and reimbursed without issue, implying that the investigation lacks merit.
These allegations come in the wake of prior legal troubles for party leader Marine Le Pen, who was previously convicted of aiding in the embezzlement of European Union funding and subsequently barred from running for office. Le Pen has labeled her conviction a "witch hunt," maintaining that she may need to delegate her presidential ambitions to Bardella as the party prepares for the upcoming 2027 elections.
Prosecutors are looking into whether illicit payments from individuals contributed to RN's funding for their electoral campaigns. Notably, the party has faced difficulties acquiring funding from French banks, leading to reliance on loans from foreign institutions, including those in Russia and Hungary.
Adding to the party's woes, the European Union public prosecutor's office has initiated a separate investigation into allegations of misuse of funds linked to a former political grouping in the European Parliament, further complicating RN's political landscape as it strives to maintain its support base.
As the inquiry unfolds, the National Rally continues to navigate public perception and the legal challenges that threaten its political ambitions, with Bardella declaring the investigation as a calculated intimidation tactic from the European Parliament.
