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EU Prosecutors Probe Far-Right Group as French Police Raid Le Pen’s Party HQ

Brussels prosecutors opened a formal case into €4.3 million in suspected misuse by the disbanded Identity and Democracy group with Paris police simultaneously seizing records at National Rally headquarters during an ongoing campaign finance probe.

Overview

  • The European Public Prosecutor’s Office initiated a formal inquiry on July 8 into alleged irregular spending of over €4 million by Identity and Democracy between 2019 and 2024.
  • A confidential European Parliament audit found inflated and fictitious contracts, procurement breaches and non-parliamentary donations benefiting companies linked to former Le Pen adviser Frédéric Chatillon and his wife.
  • On July 9, French financial brigade officers and investigating judges searched National Rally’s Paris headquarters, confiscating emails, documents and accounting records.
  • The Paris prosecutor’s campaign finance investigation, opened in July 2024, is examining whether the party used illegal loans and forged invoices to fund its 2020–2024 electoral campaigns.
  • Marine Le Pen is appealing her five-year ban from public office following a March conviction for embezzling EU funds, and no individuals have been charged in either probe so far.