Australia’s Largest Christian News Site

No less than two days in power, and the French far-left could have what it takes to rid France of Marine Le Pen in the next election.

As if on cue, the leader of the National Rally is being investigated on suspicion of “misappropriation of property, fraud, and forgery.”

According to The Independent, the Paris prosecutor’s office initiated the investigation on 2 July.

This was one day after Le Pen’s massive National Rally win in the first round of elections.

Russian Loan

French prosecutors told the Associated Press that the new investigation targeting Le Pen is over alleged “illicit financing” in the 2022 presidential election.

Le Pen wasn’t the only candidate singled out in a 2023 National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing (CNCCFP), an agency for vetting a candidate’s funding and spending.

The CNCCFP activity report also reignited debate about NR benefitting from a 2014 “€9.1 million loan from the Russian banking institution First Czech Russian Bank.” (p. 98 as per Google Translate).

That loan was set to be settled by 2023.

The apparent problem for National Rally seems to be disinformation about who’s lending them money, and why.

Campaign laws in France, introduced in 2017-2018, state,

“Foreign states and other foreign legal entities can no longer provide collateral for loans granted to parties and candidates.”

Capitalising on this, and the report’s findings, French President Emmanuel Macron used the loan to try and discredit Le Pen.

In a 2023 presidential campaign debate, he falsely accused her of “being on Putin’s payroll.”

This was despite the loan predating new campaign funding legislation, as well as the CNCCFP report stating the loan’s payout would put an end to suspicions.

All of this was further intensified by Macron manipulating anti-Russian sentiment.

A clear political ploy used to smear Le Pen, and keep Macron in power.

Le Pen’s party is now under investigation on two fronts.

Her alleged mishandling of funds as leader, and the National Rally’s campaign funding.

Historically, National Rally has denied the accusations.

France24 explained Le Pen’s borrowing from outside the country has been a necessity.

“French banks are reluctant to deal with her party – some on ideological grounds, others due to the party’s [alleged] consistent financial instability.”

Unpleasant Surprise

The stakes are high.

If found guilty, Le Pen could be fined, and sentenced to 10 years in jail.

Any ruling against Le Pen would disqualify the National Rally leader from being a candidate for five years.

This, Politico said, “would affect her ability to run as a candidate in the 2027 French presidential election.”

AP News added that the party and its leader have yet to comment.

Off the record, an official told the AFP,

 “I’m very surprised because our campaign expenses were approved in December 2022 and refunded in February 2023.

“We don’t know what it’s about.”

The party found out about the investigations when the media broke the news on French TV, he said.

Macron investigating opponents on fumes and hearsay is eerily similar to Joe Biden’s weaponisation of the Department of Justice.

At least, the tactics appear to be similar.

Typifying the strategy, a France24 op-ed appealed to safetyism, ranting about Le Pen putting “LGBTQ+ lives at risk.”

Riddled with the words fear and “far-right”, the article used selective examples to smear NR supporters as “homophobes”, ready for the kill.

The author painted a picture of Le Pen as genocidal – creating a “climate of fear” by hyping up left-wing lawfare’s irrational “far-right” fearmongering.

This latest investigation smacks of bureaucratic bullying, more than bureaucratic box-ticking.

Overreach is another sign of globalist desperation.

Macron’s ad-hoc alliance with an unstable reactionary left-wing party will likely end in chaos, if not political paralysis.

Once the headline honeymoon is over, how far left will Macron let his deal with the devil go?

As I commented in an earlier piece, Macron going after the National Rally under the pretence of “saving France” could very well have triggered the death of France.

___

Republished with thanks to Caldron Pool. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.