The Paris prosecutor has opened a preliminary investigation after Emmanuel Macron filed a complaint against presidential rival Marine Le Pen following her claim during Wednesday’s televised debate that he may have an offshore account in the Bahamas.
Le Pen, the far-right candidate, made the allegation during the final presidential debate ahead of Sunday’s election.
“Following the complaint filed today by Emmanuel Macron, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a preliminary investigation into propagation of rumors with the purpose of surprising or misleading voters, forgery, use of forged documents and concealment of forged documents. It is being handled by the financial crime department,” the prosecutor’s office told CNN.
Sylvain Fort, Macron’s director of communications, said Le Pen’s accusation was one last attempt at disrupting his campaign.
“This attempt was carefully orchestrated 48 hours before the end of the official campaign,” Fort said.
“Of course, the requested judicial measures are already ongoing.”
Le Pen had a difficult day Thursday when protesters threw eggs at her during a campaign trip to Brittany.
According to CNN affiliate BFMTV, around 50 people arrived on the scene in the western town of Dol-de-Bretagne, hurling eggs and shouting “out with fascists.”
