The party claimed on December 22 that it is struggling to raise the €20 million (US$21m) necessary for Marine Le Pen's presidential bid, and the parliamentary elections which follow in June, with much of their ire directed at French banks which aren't offering the party loans.
National Front cries foul over French banks' refusal to loan Le Pen money pic.twitter.com/f1MusiRpnq
— FranceEnglishNews (@english_france) December 23, 2016
Dr. Paul Smith, Head of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Nottingham, attributed the failure of Front National to secure funding to French banks "hedging their bets."
"Front National frequently play up how corrupt other parties are in respect of financing, but the party itself has a number of financial issues hanging over it, and there have been several investigations into their electoral financing and monetary management. If I were a bank I'd take a long hard look at their past, and Front National don't look like a safe place to invest money. It's perfectly legitimate for banks to think twice about lending to them. Front National have had dubious dealings in the past, using very dodgy processes in respect of expenses," he told Sputnik.
Asked whether this issue may offer Le Pen a boost in the election, Smith said very much so.
"Stories like this allow the party to play underdog. We saw similar claims from Front National in 2012, with Le Pen alleging parties were ganging up on her to keep her off the election ticket. They've played up the "poor victims of the system" card before, and they'll keep using it."
Whatever the reasoning behind the banks' reticence, Wallerand de Saint-Just, Front National treasurer, told The Local it was "anti-democratic" for the country's financial institutions to refuse to loan the party money.
"They should do their civic duty. They have a responsibility. The government should put pressure on the banks," he said.
Party secretary Nicolas Bay echoed these statements, calling it a "real scandal."
"I understand there are some presidential candidates who offer less guarantee than Marine Le Pen does but have still received bank loans. This poses a real problem of discrimination based on political opinions," he added.
The National Front's funding issues are very real.
France:
— The West Declines (@WestDeclines) December 13, 2016
Pink — Socialists
Dark blue — National Front pic.twitter.com/nudl9p6yi2
In 2013, Societe Generale announced it would no longer lend money to the party. The bank's treasurer said the decision was due to the scandal of Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign financing. It was revealed in November 2016 that Lebanese-French businessman Ziad Takieddine delivered a campaign contribution in excess of €5 million (US$5,22m) from Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi to Sarkozy in 2007.
