French right-wing National Rally party HQ raided by police in 'harassment operation'
"Since 8:50 this morning, the headquarters of the National Rally -- including the offices of its leaders -- have been the subject of a search carried out by around twenty police officers from the Financial Brigade, armed and wearing bulletproof vests, accompanied by two investigating judges," National Rally President Jordan Bardella said in a statement.
"This spectacular and unprecedented operation is clearly part of a new harassment operation. It is a serious attack on pluralism and democratic change," he added. "Never has an opposition party suffered such relentless attacks under the Fifth Republic."
Prosecutors said they are investigating allegations of illegal financing of longtime party leader Marine Le Pen's 2022 presidential bid, and the party's European Parliament and French parliamentary campaigns, according to the Associated Press.
"All emails, documents and accounting records of the leading opposition party have been seized, although we do not yet know the precise grievances underlying them," Bardella also said. "All we know is that all the files concerning the latest regional, presidential, legislative and European campaigns -- that is, all the party's electoral activity -- are now in the hands of the courts."
The Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement to the AP that searches were carried out at the National Rally's headquarters, at the headquarters of unidentified companies and at the homes of people leading those companies.
The searches were prompted by a judicial inquiry opened a year ago into a raft of allegations, including fraud, money laundering and forgery, the prosecutor's office said.
The inquiry aims to determine whether Le Pen's 2022 presidential campaign, and the party's campaigns for European Parliament in 2024 and French parliamentary elections in 2022, were financed by "illegal loans from individuals for the benefit of the party or National Rally candidates," the statement said.
The inquiry is also investigating allegations that the National Rally overbilled for services or billed for fictitious services in order to artificially augment the amount of state aid provided to the party for its electoral campaigns.
Authorities raided the National Party's headquarters after Le Pen — runner-up to incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 — was convicted of embezzlement in April. She and 24 other party officials were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to instead pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, violating the 27-nation bloc's regulations.
The prosecutor's office said no one has been charged in the latest case, with former party treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just telling reporters outside the headquarters "We did nothing wrong.″
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