A French court has for the first time agreed to investigate a senior EU border official for crimes against humanity. The target is Fabrice Leggeri, the former head of Frontex, accused of encouraging illegal pushbacks of migrants to Libyan and Greek authorities. The agency he used to run says it is now a fundamentally different organisation.
After two years of proceedings, the Paris Court of Appeal has opened a formal investigation into Fabrice Leggeri (Patriots for Europe/FRA). The MEP sits on the European Parliament’s civil liberties committee and previously served as executive director of Frontex. He is suspected of complicity in crimes against humanity and torture.
The LDH brought the case, successfully pushing for an investigating judge to be appointed. Frontex, meanwhile, was quick to distance itself from its former director. “Frontex today is a fundamentally different agency from the one that existed before 2022,” spokesperson Chris Borowski told EU Perspectives.
What Leggeri is accused of
Leggeri led the European Border and Coast Guard Agency between January 2015 and April 2022. According to the LDH’s complaint, he allegedly encouraged Frontex officers to facilitate the interception of migrant boats by Libyan and Greek authorities. Mr Borowski said it would not be appropriate for the agency to comment on proceedings involving a private individual.
The LDH says Leggeri tolerated illegal pushbacks. It accuses him of championing impenetrable European borders. The organisation argues he “chose a policy that aims to obstruct, at any cost—especially human lives—the entry of migrants into the EU.”
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Frontex insists it conducts its operations in full compliance with EU and international law. The agency says it has a Fundamental Rights Officer with genuine independence, a robust incident reporting mechanism, and “a culture that treats accountability not as a burden but as a condition of legitimacy.”
Leggeri’s political turn
In 2024, Leggeri joined Marine Le Pen’s National Rally as third on her list for the European elections. He won a seat in the European Parliament. Frontex had repeatedly criticised him before his departure, including for allegedly encouraging its officers to facilitate interceptions by Libyan and Greek authorities.
For the first time, one or more French investigating judges will examine the conditions for Fabrice Leggeri’s possible criminal liability in the catastrophe that caused thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean, particularly children and women. — Emmanuel Daoud, lawyer representing the LDH
“For the first time, one or more French investigating judges will examine the conditions for Fabrice Leggeri’s possible criminal liability in the catastrophe that caused thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean, particularly children and women,” said Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer representing the LDH.
A deadly decade at Europe’s borders
Since 2014, approximately 82,000 migrants have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean alone, according to the International Organization for Migration IOM. It is the deadliest migration route in the world. The United Nations says the figure is an underestimate. A recent UN report denounced the “grave violations” suffered by migrants arbitrarily detained in Libya.
Mr Borowski concluded that Frontex’s mission of managing Europe’s borders safely and with dignity has not changed. The investigation is only beginning. Its outcome could reshape how the EU accounts for what happened at its borders before 2022. “But the way we carry it out has, and that matters,” he said.
