Marine Le Pen's party faces EU fund misuse raids across Europe

French authorities conducted simultaneous raids in France and other European countries, including Italy, Belgium and Spain, targeting members of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group and the French National Rally (RN). The operation follows a July 2025 European Parliament finance report that alleged the group misused €4.33 million of EU funds on contracts and services unrelated to its parliamentary work.

The investigations heighten legal uncertainty ahead of the French presidential election, as the Paris Court of Appeal is set to rule on July 7 whether Marine Le Pen will be disqualified over the “false parliamentary assistants” case. Le Pen’s deputy Jordan Bardella said the party has “nothing to hide”. The probe also examines two companies, e‑Politic and Unanime, linked to Le Pen’s former adviser Frédéric Chatillon and his wife, which received significant EU payments. Chatillon is based in Italy, where he runs a holding named Awen. The EU’s anti‑fraud office EPPO confirmed it is conducting inquiries across several member states.