The leader of the French far-right party "National Union", pro-Russian politician Marine Le Pen will appear in court today in the case of illegal misuse of EU funds. Polls show Le Pen is "as close as ever" to winning the presidential election, but the trial, which begins today, could put an end to her political future.
This is reported by Reuters and Politico.
Together with her, 26 other suspects will be tried, including current and former French legislators and some members of the European Parliament.
All of them are accused of paying the staff of the "National Association" from the funds allocated for the work of the European Parliament.
Funds are allocated to European legislators to cover expenses, including salaries for assistants. However, they do not have the right to use this money for the activities of their party. According to the investigation, the "National Union" party spent a million euros each year on the wages of people who were engaged in intra-party operations. The alleged scheme ran from 2004 to 2016.
Lawyers of the European Parliament believe that Le Pen together with her party "caused not only financial, but also reputational damage to the parliament."
If found guilty, Le Pen could face a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars and a fine of one million euros. Although such a prison term is unlikely , she also faces a possible five-year ban from running for public office.
Le Pen continues to deny any allegations against her.
- Earlier, on July 9, BFMTV, citing sources, reported that the Paris prosecutorʼs office opened a judicial investigation against Le Pen on suspicion of illegal financing of the presidential campaign during the 2022 elections. The investigation was opened following a report by the National Commission on Campaign Accounts and Political Finance (CNCCFP) into Le Penʼs campaign account for the 2022 presidential election. According to this report, Le Pen exceeded the legal limit on presidential campaign spending.
- Marine Le Pen is a French member of parliament, one of the leaders of the far-right National Unity party, which advocates strengthening Franceʼs ties with Russia and opposes aid to Ukraine. The party won a triumphant victory in Franceʼs European Parliament elections earlier this summer, winning 31.5% of the vote, while incumbent President Emmanuel Macronʼs party won half that at 15.2%. Because of this, the president even dissolved the parliament and called early parliamentary elections.
- Although the far-right party Le Pen won the first round of the parliamentary elections and even expected to form a monomajority in the parliament, the victory in the elections was unexpectedly won by the left alliance. At the same time, the right-wing radical "National Union" was in third place.