Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-right party National Rally, has firmly denied allegations of embezzling European Union funds during her first court appearance regarding a fake jobs scandal. Le Pen is among 27 individuals, including party members and employees, who are on trial in Paris for allegedly misusing EU funds for domestic political activities from 2006 to 2016.
The European Parliament claims that the funds should have been allocated to pay salaries of EU staff, estimating the embezzled amount at around €7 million. When questioned in court, Le Pen, 56, stated, “Everything we did, we had the right to do,” and emphasized that she feels no wrongdoing has occurred. If found guilty, she faces potential prison time, a fine of €1 million (£835,000), and a five-year ban from holding political office, which could jeopardize her presidential aspirations for 2027.
Le Pen, who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 to 2017 and currently leads the National Rally, took the opportunity to criticize the European Parliament during her testimony. She likened it to the “Blob,” a fictional alien entity from the 1958 film, asserting that it operates in isolation and fails to connect with the political realities outside its walls. “There’s nothing worse than a member of parliament who doesn’t see a single voter from the moment he’s elected,” she stated.
She is on trial alongside several prominent figures, including her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the party's founder, and her sister, Yann Le Pen. Jean-Marie Le Pen, 96, is absent due to health issues.
The investigation into the alleged fake jobs began in January 2014 when the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf) received an anonymous tip-off regarding possible fraudulent activities and fictitious employment. Initially, the probe focused on Thierry Légier, Marine Le Pen’s bodyguard, and Catherine Griset, her chief of staff, who had both been employed as parliamentary assistants. Olaf’s findings indicated that Griset spent only about 12 hours in the European Parliament while supposedly working for Le Pen from October 2014 to August 2015. Légier’s role was also deemed fictitious.
Further investigations were prompted in March 2015 after the then-president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, reported potential irregularities related to salaries of other assistants connected to the party.
During her court testimony, Le Pen asserted that she established a pool of parliamentary assistants who worked as needed and insisted there was no specific guideline dictating their roles. When pressed about how she selected her assistants and their tasks, she provided vague responses or claimed a lack of memory, stating, “It was 20 years ago.”
Le Pen has previously described the charges against her as “deeply unfair,” asserting her confidence in the party’s innocence. Ahead of her testimony, party spokesperson Sébastien Chenu expressed skepticism about the likelihood of a ban on Le Pen's candidacy if convicted, stating that any such sentence would be contested as unjust.
The trial is scheduled to continue until November 27.
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