French banks want state to guarantee 2027 election loans, incoming lobby chief says

By Mathieu Rosemain

PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - French banks need state guarantees for presidential campaign loans, the incoming head of the banking lobby said, as far-right leader Marine Le Pen seeks funding for her 2027 bid after years of saying that lenders had shunned her party.

"When you're a banker, your duty is to lend money with a high degree of certainty that it will be repaid, and in this case the risk is simply too great," Credit AgricoleChief Executive Olivier Gavalda, who will take over as head of French banking lobby FBF in September, told reporters on Thursday.

"We are aware that the lack of funding for presidential election campaigns is a genuine democratic problem for all parties, because it is not just a matter of extremist parties, whether (hard-left) LFI or (far-right) National Rally; it is a widespread issue," he said.

His comments follow a formal request by the FBF to Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's government for state-backed guarantees on loans to presidential candidates, including those from Le Pen's RN party, according to a source familiar with the matter and recent French media reports.

Lecornu's office said last week it was examining a scheme under which banks and the state would share the risk of lending to presidential candidates.

Le Pen and her National Rally (RN) party have long said French banks are unwilling to lend to them because of the party's far-right image.

Gavalda said Credit Agricole no longer financed presidential campaigns.

He cited two main risks: candidates failing to secure the 5% vote threshold required to qualify for state reimbursement of campaign expenses, and the possibility that campaign accounts could later be rejected by authorities.

The best solution would be state intervention, either through direct public funding or by providing "strong guarantees," he said.

Gavalda said he favoured a pool of banks sharing campaign-financing loans, arguing this would reduce reputational risks by preventing any one lender from appearing to back a particular candidate.

RN is the largest single party in France's parliament, and opinion polls have consistently shown Le Pen among the leading contenders for the 2027 presidential election.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Additional reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Sonali Paul)