The French prosecutor’s office requested on Wednesday five years in prison, including two years subject to change, and a five-year ineligibility sentence against the former president of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, in the fictitious jobs affair. parliamentary aides from his party, threatening his presidential ambitions for 2027.
“We are here in a judicial forum and the law applies to everyone,” insisted prosecutor Nicolas Barret, asking that this sentence apply from the moment of conviction, including if the three-time presidential candidate appeals, believing that not be accountable for his political “ambitions”.
Such a sentence “would prohibit the defendants from running in future local or national elections”, said the prosecutor in front of Marine Le Pen, seated in the front row of the 24 other defendants – party executives, ex-MEPs and former parliamentary assistants.
A desire “to ruin the party”
“I think that the will of the prosecution is to deprive the French of the ability to vote for those they want” and to “ruin the party”, Marine Le Pen reacted to journalists as she left the audience, while A fine of 300,000 euros was requested against him.
The prosecution depicted in its indictment on Wednesday an “organized system” of misappropriation of public funds to the detriment of the European Parliament, with “artificial contracts” of parliamentary assistants in order to “save” money for the party.
“We are not here today because of relentlessness”, nor because of a denunciation “from the European Parliament”, but at the end of “a long judicial investigation”, declared from the outset at the beginning of indictment one of the two representatives of the prosecution, Louise Neyton.
An organized “system”
“You will make your decision in view of the documents in the file”, and after “six weeks of hearing” and “particularly extensive debates”, continued the magistrate in a full courtroom.
In turn, throughout their requisitions, the two prosecutors detailed on Wednesday the architecture of a “system” which according to them was put in place at the National Front (now National Rally, RN) between 2004 and 2016, consisting of hiring “fictitious” European parliamentary assistants who actually worked for the party.
A “godsend” for a party in financial difficulty
At the time, “the party is in a particularly tense financial situation. Anything that can contribute to reducing costs will be used systematically”, whether “legal or not”, affirmed Louise Neyton, then that Marine Le Pen shakes her head vigorously.
The European Parliament only carries out “accounting checks”, for the rest it “trusts” MEPs in the use of their monthly allocation of 21,000 euros: “So, it’s too tempting, these envelopes will appear as a windfall and be used as such,” insisted the magistrate.
And this “system”, says the accusation, will “be strengthened” with the arrival, in 2011, of Marine Le Pen at the head of the party, with an employee responsible for managing European contracts, who reports “only ” to the president, the “order giver”.
For its part, the European Parliament estimated its financial loss at 4.5 million euros, but only claimed 3.4 million (a part having been reimbursed).
ther with afp
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