Marine Le Pen and 26 other members or former members of the National Rally are sent to prison, as part of the parliamentary assistants affair. The trial will be held in the fall of 2024. The far-right party disputes these accusations.
Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally in the Assembly, is referred to the Paris criminal court, with 26 other people, as part of the parliamentary assistants affair, according to information from France Info. She is accused of having used European funds to pay some of her collaborators, whose missions were in reality intended for the National Front (former National Rally).
The trial for embezzlement of public funds will take place between September 30 and November 27, 2024. In addition to Marine Le Pen, her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen and the National Rally (represented as a legal entity) are expected to participate in the trial, after a nine-year investigation. In 2015, the European Parliament reported to the courts that irregularities could exist concerning the payment of the salaries of certain FN parliamentary assistants. These people would have held, at the same time, important functions within the party, which would not have been compatible with the missions usually carried out by a parliamentary assistant, employed full-time. Two years later, in 2017, Marine Le Pen was indicted for “breach of trust” and “complicity”, before the prosecution was reclassified as “embezzlement of public funds”. The misappropriations took place between 2009 and 2017, according to the European Parliament, which estimated its damage at 6.8 million euros.
“No offense”, according to the RN
But according to the National Rally, Marine Le Pen has nothing to reproach herself for. The party reacted in a press release: “we formally contest the accusations made against our MEPs and parliamentary assistants”. According to the RN, this trial is an opportunity to “put forward arguments of common sense”, because Marine Le Pen would not have “committed any offense or irregularity.” Among the accused, 11 were MEPs, 12 were parliamentary assistants, and four were collaborators with the National Front.
The accused risk up to ten years in prison, a fine of 1 million euros, and a sentence of ineligibility.