Paris
AP
 — 

French far-right chief Marine Le Pen denied violating any guidelines as she and her Nationwide Rally get together and two dozen others went on trial on Monday, accused of embezzling European Parliament funds, in a case that has the potential to derail her political ambitions.

Arriving on the courtroom in Paris, Le Pen mentioned, “we’ve not violated any political and regulatory guidelines of the European Parliament” and vowed to current “extraordinarily severe and very stable arguments″ within the trial.”

The nine-week trial will likely be intently watched by Le Pen’s political rivals as she is a powerful contender within the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron when the following presidential election takes place in 2027.

It comes as a brand new authorities dominated by centrists and conservatives simply got here into workplace within the wake of June-July legislative elections. Some observers count on the trial may forestall Nationwide Rally lawmakers, together with Le Pen herself, from totally taking part in their opposition function in Parliament as they’d be busy specializing in the get together’s protection.

Since stepping down as get together chief three years in the past, Le Pen has sought to place herself as a mainstream candidate succesful of interesting to a broader voters. Her efforts have paid off, with the get together making important features in latest elections at each the European and nationwide ranges. However a responsible verdict may significantly undermine her bid to take the Elysee.

The Nationwide Rally and 27 of its high officers are accused of getting used cash destined for EU parliamentary aides to pay workers who as a substitute did political work for the get together between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s laws. The Nationwide Rally was referred to as Nationwide Entrance on the time.

Le Pen, whose get together has softened its anti-EU stance in recent times, denies wrongdoing and claims the case is politically pushed.

“Parliamentary assistants don’t work for the Parliament. They’re political assistants to elected officers, political by definition,” she argued in her protection. “You ask me if I can outline the duties I assigned to my assistants; it is dependent upon every particular person’s expertise. Some wrote speeches for me, and a few dealt with logistics and coordination.”

If discovered responsible, Le Pen and her co-defendants may resist 10 years in jail and fines of as much as 1 million euros ($1.1 million) every. Further penalties, such because the lack of civil rights or ineligibility to run for workplace, is also imposed, a state of affairs that would hamper, and even destroy, Le Pen’s aim to mount one other presidential bid after Macron’s time period ends. Le Pen was runner-up to Macron within the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.

She served as get together president from 2011 to 2021 and now heads the group of RN lawmakers on the French Nationwide Meeting.

Regardless of her denial, her get together has already paid again 1 million to the European Parliament, the Parliament’s lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve mentioned. Of that quantity, 330,000 euros have been instantly linked to Marine Le Pen’s alleged misuse of funds.

A longstanding controversy

The authorized proceedings stem from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities about doable fraudulent use of European funds by members of the Nationwide Entrance.

Schulz additionally referred the case to the European Anti-Fraud Workplace, which launched a separate probe into the matter.

The European Parliament’s suspicions have been additional heightened when a 2015 organizational chart confirmed that 16 European lawmakers and 20 parliamentary assistants held official positions inside the get together – roles unrelated to their supposed duties as EU parliamentary workers.

A subsequent investigation discovered that some assistants have been contractually linked to totally different MEPs than those they have been really working for, suggesting a scheme to divert European funds to pay get together workers in France.

Alexandre Varault, a spokesperson for the Nationwide Rally who was elected to the European Parliament in June, instructed The Related Press that Le Pen will attend the primary day of the trial, including that he hopes for the acquittal of all of the defendants.

Investigating judges concluded that Le Pen, as get together chief, orchestrated the allocation of parliamentary help budgets and instructed MEPs to rent people holding get together positions. These people have been introduced as EU parliamentary assistants, however in actuality, have been allegedly working for the Nationwide Rally in varied capacities.

The European Parliament’s authorized staff is in search of 2.7 million euros in compensation for monetary and reputational damages. This determine corresponds to the three.7 million euros allegedly defrauded by way of the scheme, minus the 1 million euros already paid again.

Throughout the 2014 European elections, the Nationwide Entrance gained a file 24 MEP seats, ending first with 24.8% of the vote, forward of the center-right and the Socialists. This surge resulted in a considerable monetary windfall for the get together, which confronted extreme monetary issues on the time.

An audit of the get together’s accounts between 2013 and 2016 revealed that it was working a deficit of 9.1 million euros by the top of 2016. But, the get together nonetheless had a money steadiness of 1.7 million euros and had lent 1 million euros to Le Pen’s 2017 presidential marketing campaign, whereas additionally holding 87,000 euros in loans to Cotelec, its funding affiliation.

On the time, the get together was additionally indebted to a Russian financial institution for 9.4 million euros, a mortgage taken out in 2014 for six million euros.

The investigation uncovered many irregularities involving distinguished get together members.

Thierry Légier, the long-time bodyguard of Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie, was listed as his parliamentary assistant. However his resume didn’t reference this function, and he made no point out of it in his 2012 autobiography. Légier admitted throughout the investigation that he was not interviewed and signed his employment contract with out totally understanding his official function.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the Nationwide Entrance from 1972 to 2011, is not going to seem in courtroom alongside his former colleagues on account of well being considerations. Now 96, he was deemed unfit to testify by a courtroom in June. He has 11 prior convictions, together with for violence in opposition to a public official and hate speech.

He has denied wrongdoing throughout his time as get together chief, stating that the “pool” of assistants was frequent data. “I didn’t select which assistants have been assigned to me. That was determined by Marine Le Pen and others. I solely signed the contracts,” he mentioned.