As the European Parliament plenary prepares to discuss the EU Democracy Shield — an initiative designed to protect democratic processes and institutions across the bloc — misleading claims about it have emerged online, alleging it will be used to "cancel" results unwelcome in Brussels, potentially even subverting France's 2027 presidential election.
While the claims are clearly false, as the EU has no mandate to change election results, the fake claims, which began circulating in 2025, recently resurfaced at the hands of Florian Philippot, president of the French nationalist Patriots party.
