Jordan Bardella, the president of France’s far-right National Rally, is escalating a personnel dispute into a significant confrontation with the European Parliament. This conflict revolves around the same regulations that previously led to his mentor Marine Le Pen being barred from running for office.
Bardella, an active member of the European Parliament (MEP), is eager to employ his chief of staff for party matters, François Paradol, as a part-time assistant for his parliamentary duties. He proposed that Paradol work from Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., as a parliamentary assistant, reserving the remainder of his time for party responsibilities.
However, the Parliament has rejected this application twice, arguing that it would be nearly impossible for Paradol to differentiate between his party obligations and parliamentary tasks. This position was articulated in a letter from the Parliament Secretary-General, Alessandro Chiocchetti, which was reviewed by POLITICO and first reported by the French weekly Le Canard Enchaîné.
In his correspondence, Chiocchetti referenced the recent trial of Le Pen, who was found guilty of embezzling funds from the Parliament and subsequently barred from the presidential race, as justification for denying Paradol’s request.
“Recent legal proceedings in France have highlighted the risks associated with utilizing funds allocated by the European Parliament in instances where parliamentary assistants are concurrently engaged in political party activities,” Chiocchetti explained.
“Considering your role as party president, Mr. Paradol’s duties as chief of staff demand a level of availability and responsiveness that seems incompatible with the responsibilities of a parliamentary assistant,” the letter continued.
“The overlap of responsibilities under your direct supervision renders it impractical to guarantee that, while serving as your MEP assistant, Mr. Paradol will not be required for tasks related to the presidency of the [National Rally].”
Le Pen and 23 other defendants were recently convicted of misappropriating over €4 million in Parliament funds, accused of paying individuals who were ostensibly MEP assistants but primarily engaged in party activities.
As a result of her conviction, Le Pen received an immediate five-year ban from holding office, which could prevent her from participating in the next presidential election. Le Pen has appealed the ruling and maintains her innocence. Meanwhile, Bardella has emerged as a leading candidate for the 2027 presidential election representing France’s largest far-right party following Le Pen’s conviction.
In a statement to POLITICO, Paradol mentioned that he previously managed both roles as a part-time local parliamentary assistant and Bardella’s chief of staff during his prior term as an MEP, ending in 2024, and successfully maintained a clear division of responsibilities between the two positions. The current issue arose only during the renewal of his contract this summer, after the new Parliament was inaugurated.
“For nearly four years, I balanced my time between a part-time local assistant agreement and my work in Jordan Bardella’s office at the National Rally headquarters. This division was continually approved during the last mandate,” Paradol stated.
Paradol indicated that Bardella is considering legal options to challenge the secretary-general’s rejection, potentially escalating the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
“This clearly indicates that the European Parliament aims to further restrict our ability to hire local assistants, prohibiting parliamentary staff from engaging in any political role, and generally transforming any political staff member into a European civil servant,” Paradol added.
Le Pen’s legal team advanced a similar argument during her trial, though it largely failed against the evidence presented against her and her co-defendants.
