The trial in the case of assistants to MEPs from the French far-right National Front party, now National Rally, opens Monday September 30 before the Paris Criminal Court. The party itself, its president Marine Le Pen and 24 other people, executives, ex-MEPs or parliamentary assistants are suspected of having embezzled funds from the European Parliament to pay assistants to MEPs who actually worked for the party, between 2004 and 2016.
At the end of seven years of investigationthe prosecution believes it has uncovered and « real system » diversion. This was thanks to monthly envelopes of 21,000 euros allocated by parliament to each deputy to pay parliamentary assistants, while the National Front (subsequently renamed National Rally) was in financial difficulty. Marine Le Pen was “ the main decision maker ultimately » of this system, maintains the prosecution.
For their part, the RN and its members refute any misappropriation of public funds, especially since “ parliamentary assistants are not employees of parliament, and also have a political role » insists Alexandre Varaut, appointed by the party to comment on this issue. “ And there is no system otherwise all the party’s MEPs would be prosecuted », he points out.
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