Several MEPs and social media users have falsely claimed that “claqueurs” were brought in to support Germany’s former Chancellor Angela Merkel, as she received the European Order of Merit award at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 19 May.
This newly created prize aims to honour individuals who have contributed to “European integration”, along with the values enshrined in the EU treaties, according to the European Parliament.
But several MEPs alleged that the additional non-MEP attendees in the chamber were “extras”, “random types” or “claqueurs”, while others suggested the applause had been staged while Merkel received the “European Order of Merit.”
For instance, German MEP Tomasz Froelich, an AfD member part of the Europe of Sovereign Nations Group, said in a post shared on 19 May that “claqueurs” were “placed in the seats of our deputies, against all parliamentary customs. Madness!”
What really happened?
Footage from the ceremony shows that seats typically occupied by the far-right Patriots for Europe group remained largely empty for parts of the event — due to a boycott by a number of MEPs.
Members of Italy’s populist right-wing Lega party said they instead joined a demonstration organised by Italian farmers against the Mercosur trade agreement.
Others, including Finnish MEP Sebastian Tynkkynen — from the European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR) — said they left the chamber in protest. Taking to X, he claimed that “the EU machinery started bringing random types to the seats of the elected politicians”, in a post shared on 19 May.
However, claims that the European Parliament hired “claqueurs” or brought in “random people” to applaud Merkel are false.
A spokesperson for the European Parliament told Euronews that the plenary sitting had been officially suspended for the duration of the ceremony – meaning that guests, including laureates, family members and staff who were involved in organising the event, were allowed to enter the chamber.
The parliament also said that, as is customary during such events, MEPs who wished to attend maintained priority seating in the room.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola later repeated this explanation in the following plenary session, telling the crowd.
“Yesterday, you were aware that the session was suspended by agreement for the duration of the Order of Merit Conferral Ceremony,” she said. “This allowed for guests to enter the Chamber, including the laureates, who would have otherwise not been allowed to come in, their families and some staff members who worked on the event.”
There is therefore no evidence that non-MEP attendees were planted attendees or instructed to stage applause for Merkel, with the online claims misrepresenting standard arrangements during a suspended parliamentary sitting.