Right-wing weekly L'Infiltré launches without revealing suspected Rassemblement National mole

Launch of L'Infiltré

On Tuesday, 29 September, the new right-wing investigative weekly L'Infiltré published its inaugural issue without revealing the identity of an alleged informant within the Rassemblement National (RN). The outlet, created as the investigative branch of the identitarian publication Frontières, spent several weeks publicizing the anticipated disclosure across aligned media channels. Operating within the broader media sphere associated with conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, L'Infiltré positions itself as a right-wing counterweight to established French investigative publications such as Mediapart and Le Canard enchaîné. The publication is led by editor-in-chief Jules Torres, who is also a journalist at Le Journal du Dimanche and a regular commentator on the CNews television channel and Europe 1 radio.

Justification for withholding the name

The promised investigation was intended to unmask an RN party official accused of supplying confidential material to the daily newspaper Libération during its recent reporting on RN president Jordan Bardella. However, editorial management released a public statement attributing its sudden retraction to a separate investigation published by Mediapart. That reporting alleged that Bardella had made antisemitic remarks in several private online conversations dating between 2013 and 2015. L'Infiltré characterized Mediapart's reporting as an organized campaign aimed at Bardella's political destruction, arguing that releasing the informant's name at that moment would be overshadowed and distorted by opposing media coverage.

Faced with the power of the left-wing press and the outlets at its disposal, we cannot guarantee that our information will be heard for what it reveals.

Management stated that the outlet retains the option to publish the informant's identity at a later date once political conditions change.

Additional claims in the inaugural issue

In place of the promised party disclosure, the inaugural edition led with reports targeting commercial leaders and the French government. The front page accused Xavier Niel, the head of telecommunications group Free, of orchestrating the leak of remarks made by Hélène Mercier-Arnault, the wife of LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault. Mercier-Arnault had suggested during an RTL radio interview that being homeless could be a lifestyle choice. Although RTL did not broadcast the remark, Mediapart subsequently obtained and published the statement. In another report, the weekly alleged that President Emmanuel Macron and communications firm Publicis intervened to influence the French itinerary of Pope Leo XIV. The Pope had planned a visit in the spring to the Jeanne Garnier medical facility, a palliative care center in Paris, but the weekly reported that the executive branch found the proposed visit inconvenient while attempting to pass legislation regarding end-of-life care.

Internal party reactions

The aborted reveal unfolded amid mounting internal anxieties and loyalty disputes within the Rassemblement National. Party members have faced heightened scrutiny over leaks to the press, prompting internal suspicion and competitive declarations of loyalty among party cadres. While the identity of any internal source remains unconfirmed by the publication, the episode brought renewed public attention to factional friction and confidentiality concerns within the party leadership. Although the decision to withhold the name avoided an immediate internal confrontation, disputes regarding unauthorized briefings and leaks to independent news organizations remain an active concern across the party structure.