MAGA Fumes Over France Election Results: 'They Cheated'


The probe, which follows a preliminary inquiry, was opened last week over suspicions of embezzlement, forgery, fraud and a candidate on an election campaign accepting a loan, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to POLITICO.

The investigation will now be passed to a judge. It follows a report from the national committee scrutinizing campaign spending (the CNCCFP) which alerted the Paris prosecutor’s office.

“I’m very surprised because our campaign expenses were approved in December 2022 and refunded in February 2023,” said an unnamed official from the National Rally, speaking to AFP.

“We don’t know what it’s about. We found out that an investigation had been opened, like everybody else, on [French television] BFMTV this morning,” he said.

The CNCCFP had already noted irregularities in Le Pen’s 2022 presidential campaign, refusing to refund posters that were plastered on buses, in what was seen as a breach of campaign advertising rules.

Le Pen’s 2017 presidential campaign was also fraught with irregularities. The CNCCFP refused to refund loans given by the party and Jean-Marie Le Pen’s micro-party Cotelec towards her campaign, arguing that the interest rates set on these loans was too high.

In September, Le Pen is also set to go on trial along with 24 other people over alleged misuse of EU funds, after a seven-year investigation into allegations that the National Rally used public funds
, which were meant for EU parliamentary assistants, to pay party staff.

According to Libération, Le Pen herself faces accusations of embezzlement of public funds and risks a fine and up to 10 years in jail. Significantly, Le Pen risks being disqualified from standing in elections for five years, which would affect her ability to run as a candidate in the next presidential election in 2027.
 
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