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3w ago

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.

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PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 19: French far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) leader and Member of Parliament Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella speak to the media after observing a minute of silence for a murdered 12-year-old schoolgirl, named Lola, whose body was discovered in a trunk in the 19th district, in Paris, on October 20, 2022 in Paris, France. The brutalised body of the victim, identified only as "Lola" under French law, was found in a plastic box after going missing in northeast Paris last week. A 24-year-old woman from Algeria was quickly identified as the main suspect and detained. Police have determined she had a history of psychiatric disorders. (Photo by Antoine Gyori/Corbis via Getty Images)
French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party President and lead MEP Jordan Bardella looks on during a meeting with French employers' association Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF) gathering party and coalition leaders ahead of legislative elections, in Paris on June 20, 2024.
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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.