Marine Le Pen is the most prominent personality in the National Rally party (Image: Getty)
The headquarters of Marine Le Pen's party, the far-right National Rally, has been raided by police officers, its president, Jordan Bardella, said. Taking to X on Wednesday, the French politician said: "Since 8:50 this morning [7.50am BST], the headquarters of the National Rally - including the offices of its leaders - have been subject to a search conducted by about twenty financial brigade police officers, armed and wearing bulletproof vests, accompanied by two investigating judges."
Depuis 8h50 ce matin, le siège du Rassemblement National - y compris les bureaux de ses dirigeants - font l’objet d’une perquisition menée par une vingtaine de policiers de la Brigade financière, armés et en gilets pare-balles, accompagnés de deux juges d’instruction.
He went on to claim: "All emails, documents, and accounting records of the leading opposition party are being seized, without us knowing at this stage the precise grievances that form the basis for this action.
"We only know that all the files concerning the latest regional, presidential, legislative, and European campaigns - in other words, the entire electoral activity of the party - are now in the hands of the judiciary.
"This operation, spectacular and unprecedented, is clearly part of a new harassment campaign. It is a serious attack on pluralism and democratic alternation. Never has an opposition party faced such relentless targeting under the Fifth Republic."
Jordan Bardella said the party's headquarters were searched on Wednesday morning (Image: Getty)
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Mr Bardella, 29 and a member of the European Parliament, replaced Ms Le Pen as National Rally leader in 2022.
In March, she was sentenced to a five-year ban on running for public office for embezzling EU funds — effectively barring her from running in France’s next presidential election in 2027 unless her appeal is successful.
On Tuesday, she appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to help her overturn the decision.
National Rally's headquarters are in the French capital, Paris.
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