The efforts are high when the Paris Court today announces its judgment. 25 people from France’s largest party national collection are charged with embezzling large sums of public funds.
According to the indictment, they must have “put into systems” to use EU funds that would have gone to pay the party’s assistants in the European Parliament, to pay staff who worked for the party at national level in France instead.
The crimes must have taken place between 2004-2016, when Marine Le Pen was both EU parliamentarians and party leaders for the national collection. The European Parliament estimates that close to EUR 7 million has been embezzled in this way.
Le Pen – the “brain behind the system”
During the trial, the prosecution has presented evidence that several of the “assistants” never had contact with the parliamentarians they worked for. Including text messages from an alleged assistant who asks to be introduced to the member in question – months after the employment has begun.
There is not a single email or telephone contact between other members and alleged assistants. According to the indictment, Marine Le Pen is the brain behind the embezzlement system and thus the most severe punishment is requested for her.
Risk five -year policy ban
Marine Le Pen has been running for the French presidential post three times before. Prior to the upcoming presidential election in 2027, she is the politician who has the strongest support in opinion polls.
Should she be sentenced to a five -year policy ban, with immediate effect, her chances of becoming France’s next president, and she is also prevented from standing in any parliamentary elections.
“If I am prohibited from candidating, […] Should it undoubtedly be a deep undemocratic decision, as it would deprive the French people the opportunity to potentially elect their future president, ”Marine Le Pen told Europe1 on March 13.
All defendants deny the charges and believe that they are based on a too narrow definition of what kind of job a parliamentary assistant performs. The defense has also called the trial an attack on democracy.