Paris prosecutors said last week they had opened a preliminary investigation into possible illegal financing of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen’s campaign in the 2022 French presidential election.
PARIS — The Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday it opened a preliminary investigation last week into allegations of illegal financing of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen’s campaign in the 2022 French presidential election.
The office told The Associated Press that a judicial investigation into allegations of receiving financial loans, misappropriation of property, fraud and forgery was opened on July 2. It did not provide further details.
Le Pen has not commented.
The preliminary investigation was launched following a report by the National Commission on Election Finance and Election Accounting for 2023 and Beyond, which is responsible for monitoring candidates’ spending. In French elections, candidates are prohibited from exceeding certain spending limits.
According to French media reports, Le Pen is not the only candidate under investigation in the 2022 presidential election.
Her far-right party, the National Rally, had previously been accused of inflating the costs of campaign supplies used by its candidates in the 2012 general election. The Supreme Court rejected the party’s appeal and imposed the fine.
