What happened
The European Union’s prosecutor’s office Tuesday said it was conducting raids “in France and other European countries” as part of an “investigation into the use of EU funds by a former political group of the European Parliament.”
France’s Le Monde said the raids in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy were a significant advance in a “judicial investigation into possible embezzlement” of $5 million in EU funds by Identity and Democracy (ID), a bloc of right-wing parties that was disbanded in 2024 and replaced by the Patriots for Europe group.
Who said what
Jordan Bardella, the president of France’s far-right National Rally party and head of the Patriots group, said on social media Tuesday night that “searches have been underway at the offices and private homes” of contractors who “have worked with us.” When the European Public Prosecutor’s Office announced the investigation into ID last July, Bardella had called it a “new harassment operation by the European Parliament.” Along with National Rally, ID and its successor group include Italy’s League (Lega) and Germany’s AfD.
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What next?
Bardella’s party is “eyeing its best chance yet of winning the presidency in France next year,” Euronews said. Polls suggest the far-right party “will have a commanding lead in the first round of voting.”
