French investigators have launched an inquiry into the campaign finances of far-right leader Marine Le Pen during her unsuccessful 2022 presidential election campaign against Emmanuel Macron. This development comes amid ongoing discussions among left-wing politicians in France about potential government formation.

On Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor’s office announced the opening of an investigation last week into Le Pen’s campaign funding. The allegations include accusations of embezzlement, forgery, fraud, and claims that a candidate in an electoral campaign accepted a loan. Further specifics were not disclosed.

Le Pen and her party have previously denied any wrongdoing related to campaign financing.

The initial inquiry was initiated following a notification from the CNCCFP, a national commission responsible for monitoring campaign finances, to the prosecutor's office last year.

Dive deeper

In the 2022 election, Marine Le Pen, then leader of the anti-immigration, far-right National Rally (RN) party, faced Emmanuel Macron in the runoff for the second time and was defeated. In December 2022, the commission raised objections to expenses related to the installation and removal of campaign materials on 12 buses, labeling them as "irregular". Le Pen initially contested this decision but later withdrew her appeal.

Following a snap election on Sunday night where Le Pen's far-right movement was constrained by tactical voting, French politicians are deliberating on forming a government, with no single group securing an outright majority. The left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front (NFP), which spans from the firmly left-wing La France Insoumise to the Greens, Communists, and more centrist Socialists, is still discussing potential candidates for prime minister and the possibility of forming a broader coalition.

Despite the left slightly leading Macron's centrist bloc and Le Pen's far-right RN, they still fall approximately 100 seats short of a majority in parliament. The current parliament is divided among three closely balanced political forces: the left, centrists, and the far right.

Any prospective government would require some type of coalition. There is uncertainty about whether a prime minister from the left could secure confidence in Parliament.

According to Socialist MP Boris Vallaud speaking on France Inter, any government leaning left would require "broader support in the National Assembly."
 
“None of the three leading blocs can govern alone,” Stephane Sejourne, head of Macron’s Renaissance party, wrote in Le Monde. He suggested that the centrist bloc could now try to form its own coalition and join with some parts of the center-left while refusing to work with others who are further left.

“The centrist bloc is ready to talk to all the members of the republican spectrum,” he added.

Sejourne stated that any coalition members must endorse the EU and Ukraine while also upholding policies favorable to business. These requirements, he said, would “necessarily exclude” La France Insoumise and its firebrand founder Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

Following a gathering of the centrist group, Renaissance lawmaker Pierre Cazeneuve informed Reuters, “We have reaffirmed our red lines: No deal with La France Insoumise and no deal with the National Rally.”

Why it matters?

Gabriel Attal is staying on as prime minister while the country remains without a new government, but discussions on how to form some kind of coalition could take weeks.

Macron called the snap election last month after his centrists were trounced by the far right in European elections. He said at the time that the nation needed “clarity”. But the political uncertainty could drag on over the summer.

On Tuesday, Melenchon accused Macron of intentionally “blocking the situation to keep power for as long as possible."

Socialist leader Olivier Faure expressed readiness for his name to be considered for prime minister but added, “That would be decided in dialogue with our partners. I don’t agree with anyone imposing their point of view on others.”

Yael Braun-Pivet, the centrist former leader of parliament, told France Inter radio, “Mathematically, democratically, no one can govern alone today.” She said a coalition of different parties should agree on a handful of priority projects for the next year.

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