Le Pen could suffer from the trial since, should she be found guilty, she could lose her right to hold public office for a number of years.
Leading member of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, Marine Le Pen, is on trial for allegedly stealing EU funding. She has stated she is sure she will establish she did not do anything illegal.
Le Pen, the RN herself, as well as twenty-four other party members, staffers, former MPs, and parliamentary aides are charged with embezzling funds intended for work at the European Parliament to pay employees of their party, which was known as the National Front at the time.
Le Pen and the other defendants argue that the accusations overly restrict the role of a parliamentary assistant and that their use of the funds was lawful.
“I approach this trial with great peace of mind,” Le Pen declared to the media on Monday upon her arrival at the criminal courts in Paris.
Le Pen may suffer from the trial since, even if she is found guilty, she could lose her right to hold public office for a number of years due to the charges she refutes.
However, the trial, which takes place some ten years after the first inquiries were launched, may also aid Le Pen in enhancing her and her party’s reputations in the run-up to the 2027 presidential election if it finds her innocent.
Cross-funding events for parties
Referring to US court battles involving former president Donald Trump, “we have seen in the case of Trump how he gathered strength and support through all his trials,” Euro intelligence experts stated in a note. Additionally, it might pit national interests against those of Europe. The number of ardent Le Pen fans may increase.”
Le Pen is regarded as the front-runner for the 2027 presidential election in France. She lost to Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the election in 2017 and 2022.
According to its attorney Patrick Maisonneuve, the harm has been assessed by the European Parliament at $3.92 million.
Funds are allotted to EU parliamentarians for their expenditures, including those of their aides; however, they are not permitted to be used for party fundraising purposes.
Charges against Marine Le Pen relate to the hiring of fictional staffers throughout her tenure as an EU lawmaker and as the leader of her party.
Le Pen and the other defendants may be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $1.12 million if proven guilty.
Furthermore, individuals such as Le Pen who held elected office during the alleged offenses run the possibility of losing their right to hold public office for a maximum of ten years. For a maximum of five years, those who were not elected authorities might not be allowed.
Among the accused was Jean-Marie Le Pen, 96, but the court declared at the beginning of the trial that he and another accused person were unfit to stand trial due to health issues and would be tried separately at a later date.
The trial will go until November 27.
