Former parliamentary group Identity and Democracy distributed more than 700,000 euros in ‘donations.’

On Thursday, Le Monde reported that Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) and other conservative organizations are under investigation for potential new financial irregularities in the European Parliament.

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A new report by the European Parliament’s financial directorate accuses the former far-right parliamentary group Identity and Democracy (ID), which was active from 2019 to 2024, of illegally distributing more than 700,000 euros in donations to various associations across several countries, violating rules on the use of parliamentary funds.

The funds were distributed to nonprofit organizations with ties to leaders of ID-affiliated parties, although the groups’ activities were unrelated to the political work of the ID group in the European Parliament.

In France, for example, 3,350 euros went to a firefighters’ support association in Saint-Cloud, a town near Paris where Le Pen and other RN leaders reside.

In Belgium, 30,140 euros were directed to the Catholic Flemish Students’ Association (KVHV), which European Parliament member Tom Vandendriessche of the Flemish party Vlaams Belang belonged to in his youth.

The text reads, “National Rally embroiled in a new embezzlement scandal!” The party’s parliamentary group allegedly misused €4.3 million, funneling the money to associates of Marine Le Pen and neo-Nazi groups. Give the money back!”

In Germany, the anti-abortion association SOS Leben, which is close to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, received 3,500 euros to support its anti-abortion activities.

Under European Parliament rules, political groups may allocate up to 5% of their institutional budget to external organizations, but only for actions “linked to the political activities of the European Union.”

The EU Parliament’s report stated that many of the associations subsidized by ID “operate at a strictly local or regional level” and that their activities “have no connection to those of the ID group.” The report also noted that ID added a new expense category—“Donations”—to a list of 12 permitted spending types, even though that category does not exist under Parliament rules.

The final determination on the legality of these practices lies with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In France, the investigation adds to the legal troubles facing the RN. On March 31, a Paris court convicted RN and several of its top leaders, including Le Pen, for misusing 4.2 million euros in European Parliament funds to pay staffers who never worked for the institution.

Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison, including two years of actual incarceration, which she may serve under house arrest with an electronic monitor. She was also given a five-year ban from holding public office, effective immediately. Unless she wins her appeal, scheduled for 2026, Le Pen could be barred from running in the 2027 French presidential election.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Le Monde – EFE

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