Jordan Bardella reacted Tuesday evening to a new legal procedure targeting the National Rally's inner circle. The RN president stated that searches had been carried out since morning at the offices of communications providers who had worked with his party, including their headquarters and personal residences. He also denounced the upcoming opening of a judicial inquiry concerning him personally.
In his message, Bardella denies any wrongdoing and links these procedures to the upcoming political context. He asserts that the National Rally has "nothing to reproach us for" and denounces procedures which, according to him, "foreshadow the electoral calendar."
Searches in several European countries
The aforementioned searches follow an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor's Office into possible misuse of EU funds by the Identity and Democracy group, to which the National Rally (RN) belonged in the European Parliament between 2019 and 2024. Operations took place on Tuesday, June 30, in France, Spain, Italy, and Belgium. This procedure was initiated in July 2025 following the submission of a report by the European Parliament's Directorate-General for Finance. The investigations focus on possible misuse of EU funds by the former ID group. The amount mentioned in the case file amounts to more than €4,3 million in disputed expenditures.
A coordinated investigation into European funds
The operations were coordinated with the support of specialized services in the fight against corruption, financial crimes, and tax offenses. The objective is to verify whether European funds intended for parliamentary operations were used in accordance with the rules imposed by the European Union. The Identity and Democracy group, now dissolved, brought together several radical right-wing and far-right European parties. The National Rally (RN) held seats in this group during the previous European term, before the reorganization of the groups in the European Parliament.
Bardella personally caught up in his time at the European Parliament
The second aspect concerns Jordan Bardella himself. A judicial inquiry is to be opened regarding his employment as a European parliamentary assistant between February and June 2015 for MEP Jean-François Jalkh. The case focuses on suspicions related to documents produced to justify his activities during that period. In 2024, accusations had already been made concerning the alleged fabrication of documents intended to demonstrate actual work performed at the European Parliament. The National Rally (RN) contested these accusations and asserted that Bardella had worked in this capacity without any wrongdoing or irregularity.
A separate case from the main parliamentary assistants case
This new procedure is separate from the major case concerning parliamentary assistants of the National Front/National Rally, being tried in Paris, which covers the period from 2004 to 2016 and involves suspicions of misappropriation of European funds. In this main case, the European Parliament assessed its losses at nearly €7 million. Jordan Bardella was not charged in that trial. The newly announced legal action therefore specifically targets his former parliamentary assistant contract and the evidence presented to justify its execution.
