Armed police storm National Rally headquarters in Paris during financial investigation
The headquarters of the French right-wing National Rally party experienced a dramatic raid on Wednesday morning in Paris, which the party’s leader described as a “spectacular and unprecedented” act of harassment. Jordan Bardella, the President of National Rally, expressed his concern over the operation, stating that it was a serious attack on pluralism and democratic principles. He emphasized that such relentless attacks on an opposition party had not been witnessed in the history of the Fifth Republic.
The raid was conducted by approximately twenty police officers from the Financial Brigade, equipped with firearms and bulletproof vests, along with two investigating judges. The purpose of the operation was to investigate allegations of illegal financing related to Marine Le Pen’s 2022 presidential campaign, as well as the party’s campaigns for the European Parliament and French parliamentary elections.
According to prosecutors, the investigation focuses on whether the party received illegal loans from individuals to finance its electoral activities. The authorities seized emails, documents, and accounting records from the National Rally’s headquarters, as well as from the offices of its leaders. Bardella expressed concern over the seizure of files related to the party’s recent electoral campaigns, emphasizing that the party’s electoral activities were now under the scrutiny of the courts.
The probe also includes allegations of overbilling for services and fictitious billing to inflate the amount of state aid received by the party for its electoral campaigns. The raid on the National Party’s headquarters came after Marine Le Pen, who finished as the runner-up in the 2022 presidential election, was convicted of embezzlement in April. She and 24 other party officials were accused of diverting funds intended for European Union parliamentary aides to pay party staff between 2004 and 2016.
Former party treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just asserted the innocence of the National Rally, stating, “We did nothing wrong.” The prosecutor’s office clarified that no charges had been filed in the current case. The investigation is ongoing, focusing on various allegations including fraud, money laundering, and forgery.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Greg Norman, a reporter at Fox News Digital, covered the developments surrounding the raid on the National Rally party headquarters. The incident has sparked widespread scrutiny and raised questions about the integrity of political financing in France.
