The French office, which oversees campaign finance, claimed in a letter late last year that Bardella had borrowed €4.47 million from 225 individuals to fund his campaign for the European election in 2024. Bardella led the National Rally to a resounding, decisive victory in that contest, crushing President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp so badly that he responded by dissolving parliament and calling a snap election.
The letter noted that individuals “are allowed to loan money to candidates so long as these loans are not made on a regular basis.”
Leaders of the French far-right powerhouse have often complained that, because French banks refuse loans to the party, it is forced to seek alternative options, which often put the National Rally in the crosshairs of investigators.
Wednesday’s raid comes on the heels of a separate investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office into the alleged misuse of funds by the now-defunct Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament, which the National Rally was a member of.
The party’s most famous member, Marine Le Pen, is still trying to find a way to stand in France’s next presidential election after a court earlier this year found her guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds and handed her an immediate five-year ban on running for public office.
Le Pen, who has repeatedly maintained her innocence, immediately appealed the verdict and said on Tuesday that she was asking the European Court of Human Rights to intervene in the case.
This story has been updated.