French prosecutors investigate Le Pen's finances

French police are to open an inquiry into an unexplained jump in the wealth of veteran far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen during his time as Member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2009, a left-wing website reports. The order comes following a tip-off by a transparency body that was dissolved last year.

Like father, like daughter Jean-Marie Le Pen (C) with his daughter, Marine (R) Reuters/Vincent Kessler

The French political transparency commission, which was set up in 1988 to monitor politicians' finances, notified Paris prosecutors of an apparently unexplained difference

between Le Pen's declaration of income and property in 2004, when he was elected an MEP, and that made when his mandate ended, the Mediapart site has revealed.

Financial investigators are to ask the former Front National leader where the money came from.

The commission has since been replaced by another body responsible for transparency in political life.

In separate inquiries officials have looked into "microparties" set up by Le Pen and his daughter Marine, who has taken over the far-right party's leadership.

Many French politicians set up microparties, shell organisations that exist exclusively to raise finance, mainly for election campaigns.

One of the questions the investigators are looking into loans made by Marine Le Pen's microparty, Jeanne, to Front National election candidates at exceptionally high interest rates of 6.5-7.0 per cent.

Jean-Marie Le Pen's Cotelec was ruled invalid on 22 January because it filed its returns after the deadline.

He has since registered a new one, Promelec.

Although he was born into poverty, Jean-Marie Le Pen is a millionaire, largely thanks to a legacy from a friend and political sympathiser, Hubert Lambert, in 1976.

The family lives on a substantial estate in the posh Paris suburb of Saint Cloud.