Marine Le Pen campaign has tentative €10.6m loan deal

Marine Le Pen's National Rally has reached a preliminary agreement with two European banks for a 10.6-million-euro loan for her presidential campaign, party treasurer Kevin Pfeffer said Tuesday.

Pfeffer told AFP the party was in very advanced talks with two European, non-French banks. He declined to name the lenders and said they were expected to provide an answer by the end of the month.

National Rally has struggled to secure campaign financing from French banks. Several French banks, including Societe Generale and La Banque Postale, have refused to finance political activity.

In France, apart from donations, a bank loan is the only way for a political party to finance a presidential campaign. Candidates who reach the second round can receive state reimbursement of campaign expenses of up to 10.7 million euros.

National Rally secured a 10.6-million-euro loan from a Hungarian bank in 2022. It also previously contracted a 9.4-million-euro loan with a Moscow bank, which was paid off in 2023.