Jordan Bardella, President of France’s right-wing National Rally (NR) and an MEP, is under legal scrutiny over his use of European Parliament funds.
Pascal Prache, head of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, confirmed to the media yesterday that prosecutors are examining Bardella’s expenses. That comes following a complaint linked to European Union-funded “media training” sessions.
While no charges have been filed, the review places the party’s leader under pressure as the RN’s de facto leader Marine Le Pen appears in court today to appeal her ban from the 2027 French presidential elections.
The complaint against Bardella was lodged by France’s anti-corruption watchdog Anticor following reports by investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaîné.
The newspaper said that between 2019 and 2021, he allegedly misused European Parliament funds to pay for so-called “media training”.
Anticor alleged Bardella’s trainer, Pascal Humeau, was paid using the EP’s budget to prepare the RN chief for the 2022 French presidential campaign.
Documents available on the European Parliament website list details list of contracts awarded between 2019 and 2023. The Identity and Democracy group, now renamed Patriots for Europe, paid €133,133.86 to Kon Tiki Conseil, the database shows.
The French government company database Annuaire des Entreprises shows that Kon Tiki Conseil was created in March 2019. The manager is listed as Pascal Humeau.
EU regulations require contracts exceeding €60,000 to be awarded through a competitive tendering process.
Reports from Le Canard Enchainé allege that Humeau’s company secured the contract despite failing to meet one of the eligibility criteria: A minimum of three years’ operational history.
Bardella said yesterday that he was in “total conformity with the rules of the European Parliament” and that the contract was “suspended” during the presidential election of 2022.
Since 2016, ineligibility for public office roles has been the rule in cases of embezzlement of public funds.
If prosecutors were to establish wrongdoing, Bardella could therefore face a ban, thus leaving the 2027 race wide open without any strong figure from the RN.
Bardella also denounced the timing of the investigation and revealed he filed a complaint against the anti-corruption watchdog in December 2025.
