"We have confirmation that Nicolas Bay, benefiting from his involvement in the top leadership of the [presidential] campaign, has been transferring strategic and confidential data to our direct competitor, Eric Zemmour, for several months," the party said in a statement, as quoted by French broadcaster BFMTV.
The executive body of the party expressed regret over the "completely immoral behavior" of Bay, which "can be regarded as real sabotage."
"Almost an hour after I asked for a conversation with the executive bureau, I am removed from there! This is a serious accusation. How could I know and pass on so-called 'strategic information' without participating in any campaign management body!?'" Bay commented on the situation on Twitter.
On 20 January, the head of the delegation of the National Rally party in the European Parliament, Jerome Riviere, said that he had decided to support Zemmour in the 2022 presidential election, since the candidate from the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, is unlikely to win.
In late January, Le Pen’s niece Marion Marechal said she could back Zemmour or whoever else was in a better position to take on incumbent Emmanuel Macron in the upcoming election. Le Pen called the decision "brutal."
The presidential election in France will be held in April. To date, about 30 candidates have announced their intention to run. Macron has not yet announced his intention to run for a new presidential term.