Brussels is funding organizations that supported protests in France and Italy
Five organizations that participated in current protest movements in France and Italy, supported demonstrations, or criticized police actions have demonstrably received funding from European Union programs. This funding can be traced through their own financial reports, project documentation, and EU funding programs.
These are the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the French Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH), as well as ARCI and the CGIL trade union in Italy.
The connections are noteworthy because the wave of protests in France in mid-October partially descended into serious violence. According to Reuters, more than half a million people participated in nationwide demonstrations on October 17 in France. While the vast majority protested peacefully, violent groups looted shops, attacked police officers, and damaged public buildings. One demonstrator died, thousands were arrested, and numerous police officers were injured.
According to Alain Di Crescenzo, president of the French Chambers of Commerce and Industry, 2241 shops were looted or damaged. The damage is estimated at several hundred million euros.
FIDH: 5.55 million euros in the EU partnership program
The financing of FIDH is particularly well documented.
The organization itself announced in January 2024 that it had concluded a four-year Financial Framework Partnership Agreement with the European Commission for the period 2023 to 2027. The program is financed through the EU instrument NDICI-CSO and, according to FIDH, has a total volume of €5,555,500.
The money will be used, among others, to support member organizations, strengthen their political advocacy and communication, and involve human rights activists more closely in political decision-making processes.
On October 9, 2026, the FIDH published a statement on the French school and student protests. In it, it supported their demands and accused the authorities of violently suppressing the movement.
OMCT: The European Commission is among the most important donors
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) is also officially listed by the European Commission as an institutional donor. The Open Society Foundations is likewise included in the list of donors.
According to an evaluation of the audited OMCT financial documents by La Gaceta, the organization received a total of 1,925,276.05 Swiss francs in 2024 from European Commission programs, distributed across four projects in the areas of human rights defenders, combating torture and regional activities.
The OMCT also participated in the public debate about the French protests in October. In a statement on October 12, it spoke of a “violent suppression” of the student movement and criticized the actions of French security forces.
LDH and ARCI: 603,140 euros for Net4Defenders
The French Ligue des droits de l’Homme and the Italian organization ARCI are both partners in the European project Net4Defenders.
The project was funded through the EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) program and had a total budget of €603,140. In addition to LDH and ARCI, the consortium included NOVACT, the European Civic Forum, and other organizations. The publicly available project overview does not specify what share of the €603,140 went to LDH and ARCI, respectively.
LDH confirms in its own financial report for 2024 that a new job was created in connection with Net4Defenders and that special European funding was granted for this purpose.
On October 6, 2026, the LDH, together with other organizations, explicitly called for and supported demonstrations in Paris, Dijon, Strasbourg, and other French cities. The organization stated that the demands of the pupils and students were legitimate and needed support.
ARCI, in turn, explicitly called for participation in the large Italian demonstration “La Via Maestra” on October 17th in Rome. On its website, the organization stated that it would be taking to the streets together with the CGIL and hundreds of other associations.
CGIL: EU-funded project also documented
Funding from the European Commission can also be proven for the Italian trade union CGIL.
The PIT – Posting in Transport project was funded under grant agreement VS/2020/0481 and co-financed by the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion of the European Commission. CGIL’s own financial records explicitly document the project and EU payments.
La Gaceta cites a funding commitment of €270,520 for the entire PIT project. However, CGIL’s own annual financial statements show different amounts: €108,208 was initially recorded for 2020; the 2023 statement shows project costs of €61,709.23 attributable to CGIL itself, as well as a repayment of €21,590.71. Therefore, the amount of €270,520 should not be presented as a proven direct payment to CGIL.
The union’s political involvement in the current protests, however, is clearly documented. CGIL, together with numerous organizations, called for the “La Via Maestra” demonstration on October 17th in Rome.
EU funds and protests – but no evidence of the financing of violence
This makes one aspect clear: all five organizations have received EU funding or are partners in specific EU-funded projects. It is also documented that they supported protest movements, called for demonstrations, or publicly criticized police actions.
La Gaceta, whose research formed the basis of the original report, explicitly clarifies that the analysed financial documents show neither that the subsidies were used for the recent looting, nor that the five organizations were responsible for the acts of violence. For example, the research confirms that ARCI and CGIL called for the demonstration in Rome, but not that they organized the riots in other Italian cities.
That’s precisely why the politically interesting point is something else: Brussels funds organizations with millions of euros whose work explicitly includes activism, mobilization, advocacy, and the protection of social protest movements. Some of these organizations then actively participate in protest movements against national governments or their police.
This is documented.
Whether the European Commission should continue to fund such organizations, and where the line lies between promoting an independent civil society and funding political mobilization, is therefore a legitimate political question.
Sources:
- FIDH – EU Partnership 2023–2027, total volume €5,555,500: FIDH – Partnership with the European Commission fidh.org
- FIDH – Statement on the French student protests of October 9, 2026: FIDH – France: violent repression of the high school movement fidh.org
- OMCT – Funding Overview 2024; European Commission and Open Society Foundations as funders: OMCT – Funding and Finance 2024 OMCT
- OMCT – Audited Annual Financial Statements 2024: OMCT – Detailed presentation of accounts 2024 OMCT
- OMCT – Statement on the French protests of October 12, 2026: OMCT – France: Violent repression of the OMCT high school student movement
- Net4Defenders – EU-CERV project with LDH and ARCI; total funding €603,140: Civic Space Watch – Net4Defenders Civic Space Watch
- LDH – Call for and support of the protests on October 6, 2026: LDH – Stop the repression of young people ldh-france.org
- ARCI – Call for the demonstration “La Via Maestra” on October 17, 2026 together with CGIL: ARCI – La Via Maestra Arci
- CGIL – own call for the demonstration “La Via Maestra”: CGIL Emilia-Romagna – Manifestazione nazionale 17 ottobre er.cgil.it
- Original research by La Gaceta with all five organizations: La Gaceta – Cinco organizaciones……. reciben financiación de Bruselas LA GACETA
yogaesoteric
October 27, 2026