Prosecutor asks for 5 years for Marine Le Pen in embezzlement case

Photo: Marine Le Pen/gettyimages.com

The Paris prosecutor's office is demanding a 10-year ban on Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, from running for office in connection with charges of embezzlement of funds from the European Parliament in favor of her political party. Le Pen herself maintains her innocence, as do 26 other defendants. This was reported by the BFM TV channel.

In addition, the prosecution is demanding a five-year prison sentence, two of which are suspended, and a fine of 300,000 euros. Marine Le Pen is accused of misusing funds from the European Parliament.

According to the prosecution, a “centralized management system” was created within Marine Le Pen's party to empty the envelopes of 21,000 euros a month paid to MEPs as allowances for their assistants in parliament.

This money was actually used to pay the salaries of employees working for the party (bodyguards, graphic designers or secretaries).

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Thus, in 2015, the Paris prosecutor's office launched an investigation due to suspicions that the National Front in the European Parliament had illegally hired about 20 employees. As it turned out, these people received salaries from the budget of the European Parliament, although they continued to work for the National Front.

It is worth noting that in 2018, Jean-Marie Le Pen (Marine Le Pen's father) and his associate Bruno Gollnisch were tried in a similar case. Then the Court of Justice of the European Union ordered the politicians to return hundreds of thousands of euros to the European Parliament.

The trial of the leader of the National Rally Marine Le Pen began in Paris on September 30. If the court agrees with the prosecution, Marine Le Pen will not be able to run for president of France in 2027.

The hearings will resume next Monday, and the defense's arguments will be heard for another two weeks. If found guilty, Marine Le Pen may appeal, but the Paris prosecutor's office is demanding immediate execution of the sentence.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga