French far-right leader Le Pen denies allegations of embezzling EU funds

Upon arriving at the Paris courtroom, Ms Le Pen and other members of the National Rally Party greeted each other casually before listening carefully to the preliminary statements of several lawyers.

Ms Le Pen told reporters she was confident that she had "not violated any political rules or regulations of the European Parliament". She pledged to present judges with "extremely serious and extremely solid arguments".

She also said she planned to attend the trial “as much as possible” because she wanted to protect the “freedom” of members of Congress to use the means necessary to do their jobs. The trial is scheduled to last until November 27.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen speaks to the media as she arrives at court in Paris on September 30. Photo: AP

The proceedings stem from a 2015 warning from Martin Schulz, then president of the European Parliament, to French authorities about potential fraud by RN members of European funds. Schulz also referred the case to the European Anti-Fraud Office, which launched its own investigation into the matter.

A subsequent investigation found that some aides had signed contracts with other MEPs rather than those they actually worked with, suggesting a conspiracy to divert European funds to pay party staff in France.

Investigating judges concluded that Ms Le Pen, as party leader, directed the allocation of parliamentary support funds and instructed Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to hire individuals to hold party positions. These individuals were presented as EU parliamentary assistants, but in fact, allegedly worked for the RN in various capacities.

The European Parliament's legal team is seeking €2.7 million in financial and reputational damages, which represents the €3.7 million allegedly defrauded through the scheme.

In the 2014 European elections, the RN won a record 24 MEP seats, coming in first with 24.8% of the vote. This increase brought a significant financial boost to the party, which was facing serious financial problems at the time.

An audit from 2013 to 2016 showed the party had a deficit of €9.1 million at the end of 2016. At that time, the party also owed a Russian bank €9.4 million, a loan made in 2014 for €6 million.

If convicted, Ms Le Pen and her co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to €1 million each. Additional penalties, such as loss of citizenship or ineligibility to run for office, could also apply.

This could hinder or even cancel Ms Le Pen's goal of running for the next presidential election after President Macron's term ends. Ms Le Pen was the runner-up to Mr Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.

She served as party president from 2011 to 2021 and is currently head of the RN group of lawmakers in the French National Assembly.

Ngoc Anh (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/lanh-dao-cuc-huu-le-pen-cua-phap-ra-toa-phu-nhan-cao-buoc-bien-thu-tien-cua-eu-post314735.html