Authorities Investigate Financial Inquiries at Le Pen Party Headquarters
**Headline:** Financial Investigation Targets Rassemblement National Amidst Ongoing Allegations of Illegal Funding
In recent developments, financial investigators have conducted raids on the headquarters of Marine Le Pen's right-wing party, Rassemblement National (RN), as well as the main offices of several companies and the residences of their managers. The investigation is focused on potential misuse of funds and false invoicing, and it is believed to be connected to the 2022 presidential campaign, 2022 parliamentary campaign, and the upcoming 2024 European elections of RN.
This latest investigation is part of a series of allegations and judicial investigations that Rassemblement National (RN)—formerly known as the National Front (Front National)—has faced over recent years. Although the specific timing and scope of these allegations sometimes shift as investigations and court cases progress, the central case remains the misuse of European Parliament money (EU funds) during Le Pen’s 2017 presidential campaign.
In March, a court convicted Marine Le Pen, her party, and other party officials of misusing EU funds. The party has been accused of using these funds to pay party staff in France, which is illegal. Le Pen and others have been indicted in a Paris court for "embezzlement of public funds," among other potential charges, related to these allegations. The case is still ongoing as of 2023, with developments continuing into 2024.
However, there were no major new allegations of illegal funding specifically tied to the 2022 presidential or parliamentary campaigns as widely reported in mainstream French media. The focus of investigations remained primarily on previous campaigns, especially 2017. Nevertheless, the party continued to be monitored by financial authorities, and Le Pen’s legal troubles regarding the earlier case loomed over the 2022 campaigns.
As for the 2024 European elections, there were no widely publicized new allegations of illegal campaign funding as of early reporting. The previous case (about misuse of EU funds) remains relevant, as any conviction could affect the party and its candidates.
RN leader Jordan Bardella described the raid as a "spectacular and unprecedented action." He stated that the raid is part of a new campaign to harass the party. Bardella also mentioned that all files relating to the last regional, presidential, parliamentary, and European election campaigns are now in the hands of the justice system.
The probe aims to determine if these campaigns were financed through illegal loans from private individuals. It is also concerned with inflated invoices for services or invoices for fictitious services, which are suspected to have been included in applications for state reimbursement of election expenses.
Le Pen has appealed the verdict and filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights. The investigation is ongoing, and updates on its progress will be reported as they become available.
- The financial investigation targeting Rassemblement National, as reported in the headline, is a continuation of ongoing allegations about illegal funding, specifically focused on potential misuse of funds and false invoicing during the 2022 presidential campaign, 2022 parliamentary campaign, and the upcoming 2024 European elections, with connections to previous campaigns such as the 2017 presidential campaign and the misuse of European Parliament money.
- In addition to the ongoing investigation into the misuse of European Parliament funds during Marine Le Pen's 2017 presidential campaign, the recent financial raid on Rassemblement National headquarters is also concerned with determining if the party's election campaigns from 2017 to 2024 were financed through illegal loans from private individuals or through inflated or fictitious service invoices for state reimbursement of election expenses.
