Particle.news
Download on the App Store
18 ARTICLES
·
3w ago

French Financial Police Raid National Rally Headquarters Over Campaign Finance Probe

Investigators seized party emails along with accounting files in Paris during a long-running probe examining illegal loans, money laundering, forged documents plus other suspected campaign financing violations.

Image
PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 19: French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) leader and Member of Parliament Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella speak to the media after observing a minute of silence for a murdered 12-year-old schoolgirl, named Lola, whose body was discovered in a trunk in the 19th district, in Paris, on October 20, 2022 in Paris, France. The brutalised body of the victim, identified only as "Lola" under French law, was found in a plastic box after going missing in northeast Paris last week. A 24-year-old woman from Algeria was quickly identified as the main suspect and detained. Police have determined she had a history of psychiatric disorders. (Photo by Antoine Gyori/Corbis via Getty Images)
French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party President and lead MEP Jordan Bardella looks on during a meeting with French employers' association Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF) gathering party and coalition leaders ahead of legislative elections, in Paris on June 20, 2024.
Image

Overview

  • Around 20 armed officers from the Financial Brigade and two investigating judges carried out the raid at the RN’s Paris headquarters early Wednesday.
  • The search is part of a probe opened in July 2024 into alleged illegal loans, money laundering and document forgery financing the party’s 2022–2024 election campaigns.
  • Paris prosecutors confirmed no person or legal entity has been charged and the investigation remains ongoing.
  • Authorities also searched the offices of several unnamed companies and the homes of their executives in connection with the same investigation.
  • RN president Jordan Bardella denounced the operation as an unprecedented harassment campaign and a serious attack on political pluralism.