The European prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into possible fraud after a complaint targeted media training sessions financed by the National Rally (RN) with European funding, notably benefiting Jordan Bardella during the French presidential campaign in 2022.
The complaint was filed in Paris in December by the AC!! Anti-Corruption association, then forwarded by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) to the European prosecutor’s office for “evaluation.” The National Rally “denied” the accusations on Thursday. “These ‘media training’ services were carried out by this provider in accordance with European Parliament rules, validated by European Parliament services, on European subjects, with several RN delegation MEPs for the 2019-2024 term, including Jordan Bardella,” the party said in a statement.
With European funds at stake, the PNF forwarded the complaint for “evaluation” to the European prosecutor’s office. “After a verification phase, an investigation was opened for suspicion of fraud against European Union funds,” a source close to the case told AFP on Thursday. Contacted, the European prosecutor’s office, based in Luxembourg, declined to confirm or comment. “The European prosecutor’s office’s rule is not to comment on ongoing investigations,” a spokesperson said. The association suspects the RN of having used European funds to train its troops, including its current president Jordan Bardella, to address the media during the 2022 French presidential election campaign.
The trainer requested by Jordan Bardella
The MEP Jordan Bardella was then the interim president of the far-right party, playing an active role in Marine Le Pen’s campaign. “Funds held by members of the National Rally as MEPs” would have been used “for external purposes in their allocation,” according to the complaint seen by AFP. The media training instructor was hired to “prepare the media exercise for RN’s MEPs” and was “paid by the European Parliament with the budget envelope made available to European officials,” the association underlined.
The trainer explained to Canard Enchaîné that he was directly solicited by Jordan Bardella and responded to a purely formal call for tenders. “Europe’s money is also French taxpayer money. The RN used European funds for their political party during Marine Le Pen’s time. They continue to do so during Bardella’s time. These recurrent misappropriations of public money demonstrate a deeply rooted system of corruption within the RN,” said AC !! Anticorruption’s lawyer, Me Jérôme Karsenti, who hopes for a “quick” investigation.
