Attorneys look into financing for Marine Le Pen’s campaign

The funding of French far-right National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen’s 2022 presidential campaign has become the subject of an investigation.
Prosecutors in Paris announced that they will investigate claims of embezzlement, fraud, and forgery, as well as the acceptance of a loan by a candidate during an election campaign.
In response to a 2023 report published by the National Commission on Campaign Accounts and Political Financing (CNCCFP), the investigation was launched one week ago.
The commission’s job is to examine the funds and expenditures that candidates use for their campaigns and to report any irregularities.
The reasons behind the investigation have not been further explained, and Ms. Le Pen’s camp has not responded.

The RN has previously gotten loans from banks in Hungary and Russia. However, the €9.4 million (£7.9 million) loan from Russia was fully repaid last year.
The RN was accused in 2017 of providing party members with fictitious positions as aides at the European Parliament.
An estimated €5 million (£4 million) allegedly went to RN aides who performed party work in France rather than working for MEPs.
Denying the accusations, the RN promised to provide evidence that it did not misuse money.
In September, a court will decide whether to convict Ms. Le Pen and twenty-four other party members for allegedly misusing EU funds.
Ms. Le Pen, a seasoned politician from France, was a presidential candidate in 2012, 2017 and 2022.

In the first round of France’s snap parliamentary election last month, she was re-elected to the legislature.
Only a few weeks prior, her party had emerged victorious in the European Parliament elections; however, they unexpectedly finished third.