Marine Le Pen To Be Tried In France

• 30.09.2024, 13:20

In the European Parliament money laundering case.

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and other leaders of the National Union will stand trial on charges of embezzling European Parliament money through fictitious employment on September 30, The Guardian writes.

The trial of the National Rally party, nine former MEPs along with Le Pen and the party's vice-president Louis Aliot will take place in Paris. Spokesman Julien Odoul and four Rassemblement National employees are also due to attend the trial.

The first reports of possible abuses came in 2015. The contracts of parliamentary aides were found in the fictitious employment system at the Rassemblement National, which were made between 2004 and 2016. According to prosecutors, the aides were actually only working for the party outside parliament.

‘Many of them were not able to describe their day-to-day work and some never met their alleged MP boss or crossed the threshold of the parliament building,’ the prosecution said.

The Guardian adds that Le Pen's security guard, secretary, chief of staff and graphic designer were hired under false pretences.

As a result of this misuse of public funds, the offenders face a €1 million fine, 10 years in prison and a 10-year ban from holding public positions. The publication noted that this could be fatal for Marine Le Pen, who hopes to become president of France in 2027.