PARIS (AP) — French far-right chief Marine Le Pen denied violating any guidelines as she and her Nationwide Rally social gathering and two dozen others went on trial on Monday, accused of embezzling European Parliament funds, in a case that has the potential to derail her political ambitions.
Le Pen informed reporters she remained assured as “we have not violated any political and regulatory rules of the European Parliament.” She vowed to current the judges with “extremely serious and extremely solid arguments.″
She also said that she intended to attend the trial’s hearings “as much as possible” as she desires to advocate for the “freedom” of members of parliament to make use of the means they should do their job.
Upon their arrival within the Paris courtroom, full of journalists and most people, Le Pen and different Nationwide Rally members appeared smiling and relaxed, casually greeting one another earlier than listening fastidiously to numerous attorneys’ preliminary remarks.
A historic determine of the far-right social gathering, former MEP Bruno Gollnisch informed the courtroom that “the whole procedure is contrary to the constitutional principle of separation of powers.”
The nine-week trial might be intently watched by Le Pen’s political rivals as she is a powerful contender within the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron when the subsequent presidential election takes place in 2027.
It comes as a brand new authorities dominated by centrists and conservatives simply got here into workplace within the wake of the June-July legislative elections. Some observers anticipate the trial might stop Nationwide Rally lawmakers, together with Le Pen herself, from absolutely taking part in their opposition position in Parliament as they’d be busy specializing in the social gathering’s protection.
Le Pen mentioned she’s going to communicate Tuesday on the Nationwide Meeting, the place new Prime Minister Michel Barnier is to make his common coverage speech.
Since stepping down as social gathering chief three years in the past, Le Pen has sought to place herself as a mainstream candidate able to interesting to a broader voters. Her efforts have paid off, with the social gathering making vital positive factors in current elections at each the European and nationwide ranges. However a responsible verdict might critically undermine her bid to take the Elysee.
The Nationwide Rally and 27 of its prime officers are accused of getting used cash destined for EU parliamentary aides to pay employees who as an alternative did political work for the social gathering between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s rules. The Nationwide Rally was known as Nationwide Entrance on the time.
Le Pen, whose social gathering has softened its anti-EU stance in recent times, denies wrongdoing.
“Parliamentary assistants do not work for the Parliament. They are political assistants to elected officials, political by definition,” she beforehand mentioned. “You ask me if I can define the tasks I assigned to my assistants; it depends on each person’s skills. Some wrote speeches for me, and some handled logistics and coordination.”
If discovered responsible, Le Pen and her co-defendants might resist 10 years in jail and fines of as much as 1 million euros ($1.1 million) every. Further penalties, such because the lack of civil rights or ineligibility to run for workplace, may be imposed, a state of affairs that might hamper, and even destroy, Le Pen’s purpose to mount one other presidential bid after Macron’s time period ends. Le Pen was runner-up to Macron within the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.
She served as social gathering president from 2011 to 2021 and now heads the group of RN lawmakers on the French Nationwide Meeting.
Regardless of her denial, her social gathering has already paid again 1 million euros to the European Parliament, the Parliament’s lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve mentioned. Of that quantity, 330,000 euros have been immediately linked to Marine Le Pen’s alleged misuse of funds.
A longstanding controversy
The authorized proceedings stem from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities about doable fraudulent use of European funds by members of the Nationwide Entrance.
Schulz additionally referred the case to the European Anti-Fraud Workplace, which launched a separate probe into the matter.
The European Parliament’s suspicions have been additional heightened when a 2015 organizational chart confirmed that 16 European lawmakers and 20 parliamentary assistants held official positions throughout the social gathering — roles unrelated to their supposed duties as EU parliamentary employees.
A subsequent investigation discovered that some assistants have been contractually linked to totally different MEPs than those they have been really working for, suggesting a scheme to divert European funds to pay social gathering workers in France.
Misuse of public funds alleged
Investigating judges concluded that Le Pen, as social gathering chief, orchestrated the allocation of parliamentary help budgets and instructed MEPs to rent people holding social gathering positions. These people have been offered as EU parliamentary assistants, however in actuality, have been allegedly working for the Nationwide Rally in varied capacities.
The European Parliament’s authorized staff is in search of 2.7 million euros in compensation for monetary and reputational damages. This determine corresponds to the three.7 million euros allegedly defrauded by the scheme, minus the 1 million euros already paid again.
Through the 2014 European elections, the Nationwide Entrance gained a document 24 MEP seats, ending first with 24.8% of the vote, forward of the center-right and the Socialists. This surge resulted in a considerable monetary windfall for the social gathering, which confronted extreme monetary issues on the time.
An audit of the social gathering’s accounts between 2013 and 2016 revealed that it was working a deficit of 9.1 million euros by the top of 2016. But, the social gathering nonetheless had a money steadiness of 1.7 million euros and had lent 1 million euros to Le Pen’s 2017 presidential marketing campaign, whereas additionally holding 87,000 euros in loans to Cotelec, its funding affiliation.
On the time, the social gathering was additionally indebted to a Russian financial institution for 9.4 million euros, a mortgage taken out in 2014 for six million euros.
Suspected systemic observe
The investigation uncovered many irregularities involving distinguished social gathering members.
Thierry Légier, the long-time bodyguard of Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie, was listed as his parliamentary assistant. However his resume didn’t reference this position, and he made no point out of it in his 2012 autobiography. Légier admitted throughout the investigation that he was not interviewed and signed his employment contract with out absolutely understanding his official position.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the Nationwide Entrance from 1972 to 2011, won’t seem in courtroom alongside his former colleagues attributable to well being issues. Now 96, he was deemed unfit to testify by a courtroom in June. He has 11 prior convictions, together with for violence in opposition to a public official and hate speech.
He has denied wrongdoing throughout his time as social gathering chief, stating that the “pool” of assistants was frequent data. “I did not choose which assistants were assigned to me. That was decided by Marine Le Pen and others. I only signed the contracts,” he mentioned.
After listening to a choose learn the fees in courtroom on Monday afternoon, Le Pen mentioned she’s going to “reply all of the questions the courtroom could ask.
The trial is scheduled to final till Nov. 27.
Vaux-Montagny reported from Lyon, France. Related Press author Diane Jeantet in Paris contributed to this report.
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