French Cabinet Spokesman Denies Irregularities In Macron's Campaign Funding

PARIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2018) Emmanuel Macron's party did not tap unidentified donations to fund last year's presidential campaign in France, government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Wednesday.

This comes after Paris prosecutors opened a preliminary inquiry on Tuesday into the origins of 144,000 Euros ($164,000) in contributions to Macron's La Republique En Marche (LREM) party.

"None of this 144,000 euros was used in the electoral campaign ... Half of it was returned to those who could be identified, while the money contributed by unidentified donors was frozen and handed over to the France Foundation," Griveaux told reporters.

He stressed that the money in question amounted to less than one percent of contributions made to the centrist LREM, founded by Macron ahead of the race, meaning there was no problem with the rest of the campaign financing.