European public funds: the trial of Marine Le Pen, the RN and 24 other people opens Monday in Paris
The trial of Marine Le Pen, 24 other people and the National Rally, suspected of having embezzled funds from the European Parliament to pay party employees, opens Monday before the Paris Criminal Court. Nine former MEPs from the National Front (renamed RN) will appear, including Marine Le Pen, Louis Aliot, now vice-president of the RN, the former number 2 of the party Bruno Gollnisch, and the deputy and spokesperson for the RN Julien Odoul.
Alongside them, 12 people who were their parliamentary assistants and four party collaborators will also be judged in this trial scheduled for three half-days a week until November 27.
The leader of the RN has indicated that she intends to appear as much as possible in front of the judges, but, on Tuesday, she could favor the general policy declaration of the new Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, to the National Assembly. “Marine Le Pen has chosen to be very present in this trial. Some say “she will hide, she will not come”. No not at all. It’s not the type of house”assured Sunday on RTL the RN deputy Sébastien Chenu, promising that the president of the far-right group in the Assembly would move forward “a number of new elements”.
The case began in 2015 with a report from the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, and concerns numerous parliamentary attaché contracts over a period of more than ten years (2004-2016). For the prosecution, these « assistants »struggling to describe their tasks, only had the title. Some had never even met their official employer or set foot in Parliament and, according to the prosecution, only worked for the party – which is prohibited under European regulations.
Most of the defendants contest en bloc, citing a “pooling” of the work of parliamentary assistants. The RN has been denouncing for years a “relentlessness”or even a procedure ” policy “.
