Where to find money? For the past decade, that question has been the primary concern of Marine Le Pen's far-right party, the Rassemblement National (RN). From daily operations to electoral campaigns, the search for funds has obsessed the party chaired by Le Pen's lieutenant Jordan Bardella since 2021. Its financial practices have again come under judicial scrutiny. The Paris prosecutor's office ordered searches at RN headquarters on Wednesday, July 9, as part of an investigation launched in 2024 into the party's extensive use of loans from private individuals.

To justify a funding model unmatched by any other French party on such a scale, the RN has cited the lack of favorable responses from French banks to its requests for loans. On this issue, Le Pen and her supporters have repeatedly called for the creation of a "bank of democracy" to fund political parties without relying on private banks. "For us, it would be easier to have a single bank loan than to manage 200 contracts," said RN treasurer Kévin Pfeffer. "We employ one person full time just to manage these contracts and pay the interest," Pfeffer explained, arguing, "It's our last option for funding ourselves."

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