France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party has accused authorities of launching a politically motivated “harassment campaign” after police raided its Paris headquarters as part of an investigation into alleged financial irregularities during recent election campaigns.
The search, conducted by the French finance brigade on Tuesday, forms part of an inquiry into suspected fraud, forgery, and embezzlement related to RN’s 2022 and 2024 campaign finances. Prosecutors say the investigation, opened a year ago, will examine whether the party or its candidates benefited from illicit payments or submitted inflated or fictitious invoices for reimbursement by the state.
RN party president Jordan Bardella slammed the raid as “a spectacular and unprecedented operation” and “a serious attack on pluralism and democratic change.” Speaking from Strasbourg, where he was attending a European Parliament session, the 29-year-old leader claimed the police used the opportunity to seize internal documents and even raided his office.
“This is a new form of harassment by the system to silence the opposition,” Bardella said. He remains France’s most popular political figure, according to recent polls.
Wallerand de Saint-Just, RN’s former treasurer, defended the party’s integrity, telling reporters outside headquarters, “This process looks completely unacceptable and outrageous. All our campaign accounts have been approved and reimbursed. We’re being persecuted on a daily basis.”
Authorities also raided the offices of several businesses allegedly connected to the campaign financing, although names of those entities have not been made public.
The inquiry adds to RN’s mounting legal troubles. Earlier this year, longtime party leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of misappropriating European Union funds and barred from seeking public office for five years. Though she has appealed the conviction and called it a “witch hunt,” Le Pen has acknowledged she may step aside ahead of the 2027 presidential race.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s public prosecutor’s office this week formally launched a separate investigation into Identity and Democracy—a now-defunct political group within the European Parliament that once included RN. The group is suspected of misusing parliamentary funds.
RN, now part of the newly formed “Patriots for Europe” bloc alongside far-right parties from Austria, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal, has dismissed both investigations as coordinated attempts to derail its rising popularity ahead of upcoming national and European elections.
“The attacks won’t stop us,” Bardella vowed. “The people of France see through this.”
As the investigations continue, the political future of RN and its embattled leadership remains uncertain, even as the party continues to top opinion polls.
Chioma Kalu
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