This week marked the 50th anniversary of the European People’s Party (EPP), coinciding with reports revealing that party leader Manfred Weber has been engaging with far-right factions, despite safeguards intended to block such interactions.
France’s recent local elections, alongside leaked communications among centre-right and far-right groups within the European Parliament, have reignited discussions about political division within the European Union.
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Brussels, My Love? addressed these issues in conversation with the French-German scholar Sophie Pornschlegel, Teresa Küchler from Svenska Dagbladet, and Euronews’ Stefan Grobe.
The right-wing group chat
An investigation by the German news agency dpa uncovered that the centre-right, pro-European European People’s Party (EPP) has been coordinating with far-right parties like Alternative for Germany (AfD) over stricter EU migration policies via a WhatsApp group. Manfred Weber, at the helm of the EPP, finds himself at the heart of this controversy.
Stefan Grobe commented, “This development is damaging for Manfred Weber and the Christian Democrats in Germany. Daily, they emphasize the existence of a ‘firewall’ separating them from the far-right, yet suddenly, it is revealed that Weber held clandestine talks with the AfD.”
In contrast, Pornschlegel noted that this investigation shouldn’t come as a shock.
She highlighted that since the 2024 European elections, the EPP has collaborated with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and other far-right groups on multiple legislative matters, including deregulation and migration policies.
The polarised local elections
The first round of the 2026 municipal elections took place last Sunday in France, involving almost 48.7 million registered voters. Where no candidate secured over 50%, a runoff is scheduled for March 22.
In Paris, the socialist candidate Emmanuel Grégoire leads the polls, while in Lyon, an alliance between the Greens and the far-left France Unbowed has shifted the electoral dynamics.
According to Küchler, these elections further illustrate the disappearance of “Macron’s centre,” as extremist parties from the right (National Rally) and left (France Unbowed) are gaining momentum.
However, Pornschlegel argues that these results do not serve as a direct indicator for the 2027 presidential elections. She points out that the political stakes differ considerably and voter turnout in these local elections was notably low.
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Additional sources • Georgios Leivaditis, sound editing and mixing.