French prosecutors seek prison for Marine Le Pen over EU funds
The French prosecution has requested a five-year prison sentence for Marine Le Pen, leader of the nationalist right-wing party Rassemblement National (RN, formerly the National Front), with two years to be served in prison and a five-year period of ineligibility (refers to being barred or disqualified from holding a particular position, right, or status).
The prosecution has also requested that the sentence be enforced immediately upon conviction, regardless of whether Le Pen, a three-time candidate for the French presidency, chooses to appeal.
The indictment follows a month and a half of hearings involving Marine Le Pen and 24 other defendants, including party officials, former Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), and former parliamentary aides. These individuals are accused of serving as “fake parliamentary assistants,” as Le Pen’s party allegedly employed them within France under falsified contracts, presenting them as aides for the party’s MEPs.
Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right party, denounced the prosecution’s findings as “violent” and “excessive.” She stated, “I believe the prosecutor’s intent is to deprive the French people of the chance to vote for those they want” and to “harm the party,” according to the three-time presidential candidate.
During the trial, prosecutors outlined what they described as a “system” allegedly put in place by the National Front (now RN) from 2004 to 2016. This system involved hiring “fictitious” European parliamentary assistants who, in practice, worked for the party.
The European Parliament conducts only “accounting checks” and otherwise “trusts” MEPs to handle their €21,000 monthly allowances as they see fit. For some, however, the temptation has proved too great, with instances emerging of European funds being used to pay staff who never set foot in parliament—neither in Brussels nor in Strasbourg.
Marine Le Pen, back when the French far-right party was still known as the National Front, is alleged to have formalised this practice as a system starting in 2014, when twenty FN members entered the European Parliament.
As a result, twelve members and associates of the French far-right party were paid for years as European parliamentary assistants, a practice deemed a misappropriation of public funds. The European Parliament estimates the financial damage caused by Le Pen’s actions at €4.5 million, though it has only requested the return of €3.4 million, part of which has already been reimbursed.
Author: Dan Alexe
Translation by Iurie Tataru
