The raids come days before Marine Le Pen’s appeal decision and ahead of France’s 2027 presidential race, where Jordan Bardella has emerged as National Rally’s backup candidate if Le Pen remains barred from running.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
European Union prosecutors carried out searches this week targeting firms tied to France’s National Rally and its allies in the European Parliament, raising new questions about the legal pressure facing the country’s leading anti-mass migration party before the next presidential election.
The raids occurred less than a week before National Rally leader Marine Le Pen is set to learn whether a court will uphold a five-year ban preventing her from running in European elections. The ban stems from a case involving alleged misuse of European Parliament funds.
Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 30-year-old deputy and the party’s publicly discussed backup option for the 2027 presidential election, said contractors connected to National Rally were targeted by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Bardella has been leading or performing strongly in polling scenarios for the next presidential race, in some cases outperforming Le Pen.
Bardella wrote on X that searches were conducted at offices and homes of communications providers that had worked with the party.
“Since early this morning, searches have been underway at the offices and personal residences of communication providers who have worked with us,” Bardella wrote.
He also said he had been informed of a potential judicial investigation concerning a job he held at the European Parliament nearly 12 years ago.
“At the same time, Le Canard enchaîné also informs us of the upcoming opening of a judicial investigation concerning me, following a complaint from a militant association, regarding a job I held for a few months at the European Parliament… nearly twelve years ago,” Bardella wrote.
Bardella linked the timing to the political calendar.
“As always, judicial proceedings herald the electoral calendar. We have nothing to reproach ourselves for, and we will demonstrate it,” he said.
According to Le Monde, searches were carried out early Tuesday in Belgium, France, Italy and Spain as part of an investigation involving the former Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament.
The French newspaper reported that the probe concerns allegations that the group improperly spent about 4.33 million euros in Brussels funds connected to its operations in the European Parliament. The alleged spending included contracts reportedly awarded without competitive bidding to firms tied to parties inside the Identity and Democracy group, including National Rally.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office said Tuesday that it was “currently carrying out investigative measures in France and other European countries as part of an ongoing investigation into the use of European funds by a former political group in the European Parliament between 2019 and 2024.” The statement appeared to refer to the Identity and Democracy group.
Le Monde reported that the searches are part of an investigation opened in July 2025 after a report from the European Parliament’s financial affairs directorate.
National Rally officials have questioned the timing.
Philippe Ballard, a National Rally deputy for Oise and a party spokesman, told france info that the complaint came from a “militant association.”
“There are many [associations] who sue us, which they never win anyway,” Ballard said.
“We will let justice take its course. But we are calm. We will show that we are, once again, completely innocent,” he added.
National Rally deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy told BFMTV that the timing was concerning because the Paris Court of Appeal is scheduled to rule July 7 on whether to uphold Le Pen’s ineligibility in the European parliamentary assistants case.
He said he found it “disturbing that one week before Marine Le Pen’s court deliberations, this affair resurfaces.”
Le Pen’s five-year ban also stems from a case involving European Parliament funding. Prosecutors alleged that Le Pen and others in the party, then known as the National Front, used money provided for European Parliament operations to fund domestic political activity in France.
Critics have raised questions about selective enforcement. A 2023 report found that one in five members of the European Parliament had allegedly broken the same rules at issue in the Le Pen case, yet only one of 139 cases reportedly faced investigation before her trial.
Those concerns have intensified now that Bardella may also face scrutiny. If Le Pen’s ban is upheld, Bardella is widely viewed as National Rally’s likely presidential contender in 2027.
Le Pen addressed that possibility Wednesday evening, saying she would not attempt to direct Bardella’s decisions if he became the party’s candidate. She told Le Figaro that she has a “complementary” relationship with Bardella but said he would have the “freedom” to chart his own course.
There has also been speculation that Le Pen could serve as Bardella’s prime minister if her election ban remains in place and he wins the presidency.
The latest raids have added a new layer of uncertainty to France’s approaching national election season. With Le Pen awaiting a key appeal ruling and Bardella now saying he expects a possible investigation involving his past European Parliament work, National Rally is again confronting legal scrutiny tied to EU funds while its leaders hold strong positions in the polls.
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