The BBC article didn't explain why the raids were conducted (mostly likely because it wasn't yet known at the time). Meanwhile, <i>Le Parisien</i> (which appears to have broken the story) has come forward with more details, which have since been translated by other outlets, e.g.:<p><i>France’s financial prosecutor’s office said the raids were carried out with the assistance of the police anti-corruption unit and 25 information technology experts. French daily Le Parisien, which first reported the news, said the raid took place at dawn and involved some 100 investigators. Officers were still at the scene Tuesday afternoon.</i><p><i>“These searches are the result of a preliminary investigation opened on June 16, 2015 relative to aggravated tax fraud and organized money laundering following a complaint from French fiscal authorities,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. “The investigation is aimed at finding out whether Google Ireland Ltd. is permanently established in France and if, by not declaring some of its activity on French soil, it has failed to meet its fiscal obligations, in particular with regard to corporation tax and value added tax.”</i><p><a href="http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/05/24/french-police-raid-googles-paris-offices-in-1-7-billion-tax-fraud-money-laundering-probe/" rel="nofollow">http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/05/24/french-police-ra...</a>