National Rally employee attempts suicide at party headquarters (RN)

Laurent Salles, 55, a switchboard operator for the National Rally and former parliamentary assistant to Louis Aliot, attempted suicide in the middle of the afternoon and was taken to Lariboisière Hospital. National Rally President Jordan Bardella went to the headquarters.

According to the same source, he acted " for a personal reason, linked to a romantic relationship ," and " wrote to relatives " to this effect.

Laurent Salles is one of the 24 co-defendants in the trial of the RN parliamentary assistants. He was sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence.

Previously an employee of the party, he was hired in July 2014 by the current number 2 of the National Rally, Louis Aliot, without even having an interview.

The investigation, summarized by the court, showed " no trace " of any work by Laurent Salles for Louis Aliot and noted a " single SMS " exchanged between the two men in eight months.

In fact, according to the prosecution, everything suggests that Laurent Salles was actually working for Yann Le Pen (sister of Marine Le Pen) to organize major party events.

During the trial, Mr. Salles had wished to exercise his right to silence.