ADVERTISEMENT

Le Pen's Crowdfunding Push Offers French Supporters 5% Yield

Le Pen's Crowdfunding Push Offers French Supporters 5% Yield

(Bloomberg) -- Marine Le Pen launched a crowdfunding plan Monday for her National Rally as banks refused to fund the far-right party’s push in May’s European elections.

“Without your help, we won’t be able to finance our campaign,” Le Pen said in a video posted online. Loans start at 1,000 euros ($1,120) and will pay 5 percent interest, she said.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the far-left group France Unbowed, launched a similar effort last week -- though his group isn’t offering to pay supporters any interest. Banks in France have become wary of lending money for election campaigns because of the reputational risk.

“Like some other opposition lists, which are in the same situation, no bank will agree to lend us the sums necessary for our campaign,” Le Pen said in the video. She said the banks’ position was “unjustifiable” and tantamount to “persecution.”

French parties used to have few problems getting loans, since the government refunds some expenses for any party surpassing a relatively modest voting threshold. For May’s European vote, parties can spend up to 9.2 million euros and get up to 4.3 million euros back so long as they win 3 percent of the vote.

So far, France Unbowed has raised 1.5 million euros in interest-free loans from supporters, the party said Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s party leads Le Pen group by 2 percentage points in the latest poll of voting intentions for May’s vote.

To contact the reporter on this story: Geraldine Amiel in Paris at gamiel@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Ben Sills, Richard Bravo

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.