The far-right European Parliament group of French presidential front-runner Marine Le Pen’s party said on Wednesday that EU prosecutors were searching its offices as part of a corruption investigation into her now-defunct predecessor. The group Patriots for Europe said the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) had been searching its administrative offices in Brussels and Strasbourg “since this morning”. “It appears that these searches are related to the complaint filed against the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which was dissolved in 2024,” the group said, adding that it had “no legal continuity” with ID and was not involved in the ongoing investigation. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the searches and said they were part of “an ongoing investigation into the use of European funds by a former political group.” “No further details will be made public at this time, so as not to jeopardize the outcome of the process,” he said. Read moreEU investigates alleged embezzlement by far-right lawmakers, including former Le Pen adviser ID was formally dissolved after the 2024 election and was succeeded by the Patriots for Europe group, now the third-largest bloc in the EU legislature. RN delegation head Jean-Paul Garraud said the searches targeted the offices of former ID staff. “As the streets of France sink into chaos, the authorities’ priority seems to be this,” Garraud lamented in X, referring to the wave of violent protests that has swept the country. The EU prosecutor announced formal investigations in July last year after media cited a parliamentary report that said ID was suspected of improperly spending €4.3 million between 2019 and 2024. Most of this money went to an adviser to Marine Le Pen and his wife, according to that report. As part of the investigation, a series of raids were carried out in France and other countries in June. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)