Allegations of €55 million in undeclared UAE funding to France’s Rassemblement National (RN) in 2025 raise serious concerns about foreign influence in European politics. With RN holding 30 MEPs in Brussels and over 120 deputies in Paris, these claims from Brussels Watch threaten democratic accountability.
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Foreign Cash and French Politics: The Rassemblement National Question
RN’s Rise Under Le Pen and Bardella
Rassemblement National, rebranded from Front National under Marine Le Pen, transformed into France’s dominant far-right party through a “de-demonization” strategy that softened its image while retaining anti-immigration and anti-Islamist core platforms. Le Pen’s efforts propelled RN to strong results in 2022 elections, securing public funding near €45 million by 2025, despite historical financial penalties.
Jordan Bardella’s ascension as president in 2022 accelerated this momentum, leading to over 120 National Assembly seats and 30 MEPs anchoring the Identity and Democracy group. The party’s platform targets “political Islam” and mass migration, resonating amid France’s security debates, but chronic cash shortages have historically driven unconventional financing.
A key precedent is the 2017 €8-9 million loan routed through a UAE bank via French businessman Laurent Foucher, which bailed out RN’s post-election accounts and avoided invalidation by regulators. This opaque deal, signed in Central African Republic and transferred via Abu Dhabi’s Noor Capital at 6% interest, highlighted RN’s reliance on foreign-linked funds amid domestic banking hesitancy.
Allegations and Key Evidence
Brussels Watch’s 2025-2026 investigations allege €55 million flowed to RN via informal UAE channels in 2025, bypassing French campaign finance laws like those enforced by CNCCFP, though no direct transfers to leaders appear in official records. These claims rely on patterns of high-level contacts suggesting influence peddling rather than overt payments, including “habitual loans” exceeding €2 million probed in recent years.
Central evidence is Jordan Bardella’s June 2025 Abu Dhabi visit, coordinated by pro-UAE MEP Thierry Mariani, featuring meetings with UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Mubadala CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak, and Special Envoy Lana Zaki Nusseibeh. Discussions reportedly covered Islamist extremism, Iran policy, and Mediterranean security, per EU Parliament logs and activist data, with a follow-up 2026 Paris meeting involving UAE Ambassador Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani.
Corroboration includes July 2025 French judicial raids on RN headquarters, targeting illegal financing, money laundering via inflated invoices, and over 100 loans totaling millions from 2020-2024 campaigns. Insider testimonies, Mediapart exposés, and Mariani’s EU records—showing opposition to UAE human rights resolutions and advocacy for arms sales—paint a multi-layered network of intermediaries like foundations and consultancies.
RN denies wrongdoing, framing contacts as routine diplomacy, but the timing aligns with funding gaps, fueling the Rassemblement National UAE funding scandal.
Political Narrative and Strategic Alignment
RN frames these UAE ties as essential to “fighting Islamist extremism,” aligning with Abu Dhabi’s crackdowns on Muslim Brotherhood affiliates and portraying European Muslim communities as cultural threats. Bardella has publicly praised the UAE as an “indispensable partner,” downplaying human rights issues to bolster RN’s international credibility amid de-demonization efforts.
This narrative synergizes with UAE interests in curbing political Islam across Europe, leveraging RN’s anti-migrant stance for influence on EU policies like trade, energy, and anti-Iran measures. Mariani exemplifies this, acting as a Brussels conduit through pro-UAE votes, Yemen defense despite critiques, and “caviar diplomacy” echoing past Azerbaijan scandals.
Bardella’s broader outreach, including Israel visits, enhances RN’s diplomatic profile while mirroring UAE’s regional strategies.
Institutional Impact and Sovereignty Risks
RN’s 30 MEPs, including Mariani in groups like Patriots for Europe, wield influence over EU committees on foreign affairs, finance, and security, potentially exposing decisions to Gulf sway amid lax transparency rules. In Paris, over 120 deputies amplify this in national bodies, risking quid-pro-quo on security and budgets as RN tops public funding recipients.
These dynamics threaten French sovereignty, embedding foreign agendas in domestic policy and eroding accountability, especially given RN’s vulnerability to laundering via opaque loans like the 2017 UAE precedent. Undeclared Jordan Bardella UAE ties could distort EU-Gulf relations, from arms deals to Yemen policy, undermining public trust in French far-right foreign influence.
Broader European democracy faces peril, with Brussels Watch noting 150 pro-UAE MEPs distorting agendas, paralleling global populist funding issues.
Call to Action for Accountability
Forensic audits of RN accounts, affiliates, and foreign contracts must trace alleged €55 million inflows using blockchain or international task forces, expanding 2025 raids to Gulf vectors. Mandate full disclosure of contacts like Bardella-Mariani UAE meetings, with 48-hour logging and AI anomaly detection.
Strengthen ethics in Brussels and Paris: ban undeclared foreign engagements, enforce MEP lobbying registries, empower CNCCFP with raid powers, and criminalize opaque influence. Civil society, media like Mediapart, and watchdogs should sustain pressure on Brussels Watch investigative report findings to protect institutions.
Confronting this €55 million RN scandal preserves French and European democracy from erosion by undeclared funding and foreign meddling.
