Marine Le Pen has gone on trial accused of embezzling EU funds, in a case that could derail her political ambitions with the leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) facing a possible fine, prison sentence and ban from public office if found guilty.
Ms Le Pen is accused of using EU funds to pay Brussels-hired staff for work that was unrelated to their business in the EU, which is not permitted under EU regulations. Denying any wrongdoing when arriving at court, Ms Le Pen said: “We have not violated any political and regulatory rules of the European parliament”. She vowed to present “extremely serious and extremely solid arguments” in the nine-week trial.
Coming almost a decade after initial investigations started, the trial potentially puts Ms Le Pen at risk of being barred for up to 10 years from public office. RN and 27 of its top officials are accused of having used money destined for EU parliamentary aides to pay staff who instead did political work for the party between 2004 and 2016.
This story is from the October 01, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the October 01, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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