The European Parliament demands 300,000 euros from Jean-Marie Le Pen

The European Parliament is demanding more than 300,000 euros from Jean-Marie Le Pen for having unduly charged MEP mandate fees, a case separate from that of parliamentary assistants currently being tried in Paris.

In a decision of July 8, notified to the former far-right leader but which has not been made public, the Secretary General of the European Parliament is demanding 303,200.99 euros from him, AFP learned on Monday from close sources of the file.

In question, the use of mandate fees under the “budget line 400” of the European Parliament.

This line is intended to cover “the administrative and operating expenses of the political groups and the secretariat of non-attached Members” and those “linked to political and information activities within the framework of the political activities of the European Union”.

However, between 2009 and 2018, Jean-Marie Le Pen was unduly reimbursed for expenses for newsletters, pens, business cards, ties, umbrellas, kitchen scales, desk clocks, connected bracelets, virtual reality glasses or another 129 bottles of wine, according to a report from the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf).

Olaf notably estimated that a number of newsletters were “copy and paste” of open access texts and had been overcharged “in relation to the work actually carried out to produce (them), according to extracts from its report published by Mediapart in March 2022.

The former leader of the Frontist party has filed an appeal against the decision of the European Parliament before the General Court of the European Union, his lawyer, Me François Wagner, told AFP.

Contacted, the European Parliament indicated for its part that “the Parliament’s administration is required, when it receives serious indications that funds have been unduly paid, to carry out a verification of compliance with the applicable administrative financial rules of the case in question, to seek clarification from the Member concerned and to recover the money unduly paid if no proof of compliant expenditure is provided.

“This does not replace any legal procedure or investigation,” added the institution.

This dispute is distinct from that of the case of the assistants of MEPs, for which 26 defendants, including Marine Le Pen and the National Rally as a legal entity, have been appearing before the Paris criminal court since last week, suspected of embezzlement. funds for having hired collaborators for the sole benefit of the party.

The case of Jean-Marie Le Pen, initially also referred to the court, was “disjointed”, his state of health having been judged incompatible with his presence at the trial after a judicial expertise carried out in June had noted “a profound deterioration” of his physical and psychological state.

The unsuccessful candidate in the second round of the 2002 presidential election, aged 96, has been the subject of a “protection mandate” – a measure comparable to guardianship – since mid-February.

His three daughters Marie-Caroline, Yann and Marine Le Pen are his agents, which allows them to carry out various acts in their father’s name, alone or in concert.