The association La Maison des potes has filed a complaint against Thierry Mariani, RN candidate for Paris mayor, over his pledge to introduce national priority in social housing access. The move aims to challenge a breach of equality laws. The case echoes prior legal issues involving the RN party.
Thierry Mariani, a European Parliament member and Rassemblement national (RN) candidate for Paris mayor, is the target of a complaint from the association La Maison des potes for "inciting housing discrimination." Filed recently with the Paris prosecutor's office, the action targets Mariani's campaign promise to establish "national priority" in housing access in the capital. His campaign website still displayed on Friday morning: "Instaurer la priorité nationale" above "guarantee Parisians and workers access to social housing."
The association contends that this pledge explicitly urges candidates on his list to base municipal policy on nationality criteria, which is prohibited by law. Lawyer Jérôme Karsenti, representing the complainant, told AFP: "This is a clear violation of the law and the equality principle enshrined in the Constitution. Such promises undermine the rule of law."
The case follows previous legal challenges for the RN. In September 2024, the Nanterre court acquitted three former or current Front national (now RN) figures, including Hénin-Beaumont mayor Steeve Briois and ex-national secretary Sophie Montel, in a matter involving the "FN elected official's guide." Published before the 2014 municipal elections, the guide advised applying "national priority" to social housing. Prosecutors had sought six months' suspended prison and a 10,000-euro fine against some defendants, but the court found insufficient evidence of their personal involvement in its publication. Marie-Thérèse Costa-Fesenbeck was also acquitted due to lack of proof.
La Maison des potes had initiated that earlier complaint, highlighting a pattern in the party's legal troubles on this issue.
