In an unprecedented move, police raided the National Rally's offices in Paris on Wednesday as part of an ongoing investigation into the party's campaign finances, according to the Paris prosecutor's office. This inquiry, started in July 2024, seeks to uncover whether the nationalist party violated France's strict campaign financing regulations.
Jordan Bardella, the party’s president, condemned the raid as an act of harassment, asserting that it poses a significant threat to political plurality and democratic processes in France. The operation involved around 20 armed officers from the financial brigade and was overseen by two investigative judges, as confirmed by Bardella.
The raid led to the seizure of all emails, documents, and financial records of the National Rally, with Bardella expressing frustration over the lack of transparency regarding the allegations raised against the party. “No opposition group has faced such ongoing scrutiny in the Fifth Republic,” he posted on X, highlighting the gravity of the situation as it unfolds.
The National Rally, which holds the position as the largest opposition party in France’s lower house following last year’s snap elections, has been headed by Marine Le Pen, who has consistently challenged President Emmanuel Macron in the last two election cycles.
According to the Paris prosecutor's office, the investigation was launched after receiving "several alerts" from an unnamed institutional source about the party's financing during the 2022 presidential and legislative elections, as well as the 2024 European Parliament campaign. The inquiry aims to determine if those campaigns received illegal funding through either private loans or fraudulent invoicing for campaign expenditures, which are funded in part by the state under French law. Although private loans to political entities are permissible, they come with stringent stipulations.
