Jordan Bardella allegedly participated in the preparation of false documents on his work as a European parliamentary assistant, according to an article in Libération published on Monday, with the RN president immediately denying this and denouncing an “attempt at destabilization” in the run-up to a trial of several party officials.
The article is taken from the investigative book “Machine à gagnant”, to be published on September 13 on the RN’s strategy for conquering power, by journalist Tristan Berteloot.
According to the latter, Jordan Bardella, who was for several months in 2015 parliamentary assistant to Jean-François Jalkh, former RN MEP, participated a posteriori in the development of fictitious and backdated documents (press reviews, agenda) supposed to testify to tasks on behalf of the elected official that he had not actually carried out.
Libération cites in particular as support a message from an intern working for the Belgian lawyer Ghislain Dubois, who allegedly declared during an exchange on a messaging service with former members of the party that he had “created false files for assistants who have never worked for the European Parliament”. Contacted, Mr. Dubois was not immediately available to respond.
Jordan Bardella worked “without any infraction or irregularity, either with regard to the regulations of the European Parliament or French law”, the RN retorted in a press release on Monday.
“Your accusations are false and defamatory. Neither the European Parliament nor the French justice system had found fault with the reality of my work. No one will be fooled by this crude attempt at destabilization,” also reacted the president of the RN sur X, referring to the upcoming opening of the trial concerning the parliamentary assistants of the National Front (now the National Rally), scheduled to start on September 30.
The magistrates suspect the far-right party of having set up a “system of embezzlement” of the envelopes (21,000 euros per month) allocated by the European Union to each deputy to pay parliamentary assistants. The latter are said to have worked in reality all or part for the FN, allowing it substantial savings on salaries.
The European Parliament estimated the damage in 2018 at 6.8 million euros.
Among the defendants are Marine Le Pen, Louis Aliot, now vice-president of the RN, the former number 2 of the party Bruno Gollnisch, and the deputy and spokesperson of the RN Julien Odoul. Jordan Bardella had not been implicated by the investigation that began in March 2015.
“We will therefore go to court to say that we have committed no offence (…) I am very sure of our innocence,” Marine Le Pen repeated on Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche, denouncing a “deeply unfair” procedure. The leader of the RN is targeted for embezzlement of public funds and complicity. She faces a sentence of ineligibility of five years.
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