MHalf past twelve o’clock, Monday September 30. The first hearing of the so-called “RN assistants” trial only begins in an hour, but dozens of cameramen and reporters are already crowding the corridors of the Paris criminal court. 200 journalists are expected. A second room had to be requisitioned so that the debates could be broadcast there for the press.
Twenty-five defendants appear. Elected or former elected officials of the FN who became RN, collaborators or former collaborators. They are accused of having taken part in a system of embezzlement of public funds, from the European Parliament, to pay employees who actually worked for the party. Amount of damage according to the European Parliament: 6.8 million euros.
“Serenity”
Many of the defendants played or play a central role in the RN. We see Bruno Gollnisch, who came with a thick file crossed out with the words “arguments”, the MEP Nicolas Bay, who “betrayed” by joining Éric Zemmour and whom Marine Le Pen pointedly ignores, the MP Julien Odoul…
“We are serene. We didn’t break any rules.”
“We are serene. We have not violated any rules,” assures Marine Le Pen in a short statement. At the center of all eyes, she takes her place in the front row. Ironically, this trial begins on the eve of the general policy speech of a Prime Minister whose future is suspended by the vote of RN deputies. Marine Le Pen was caught up in this affair, after eight years of investigation, even though her power over political life has never seemed so great. A sentence of ineligibility with immediate execution, the disaster scenario for his supporters, would crush his ambitions for 2027.
1:30 p.m. The hearing begins with the ritual reading of the alleged facts, and the parade of defendants invited to take the stand. Some, little known to the public, are pillars of the far-right party. Thierry Légier, bodyguard. Catherine Griset, close friend of Marine Le Pen, whose chief of staff she was. Wallerand de Saint-Just, former treasurer of the formation. In an email exchange with Marine Le Pen, he wrote in 2014: “We will only get out of this if we make significant savings thanks to the European Parliament. »
“We will only get out of this if we make significant savings thanks to the European Parliament”
Called in turn to the stand, Marine Le Pen said she wanted to answer “all the questions that the court would like to ask me”. Then, at 6 p.m., the debates can begin. RN lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut reveals two first axes of his defense, emphasizing “the absence of personal enrichment”, and criticizing a “unique situation, where internal rules developed by the European Parliament are recycled to support prosecutions criminal offenses”.
This long trial is expected to last two months. According to those around her, Marine Le Pen intends to be very diligent at the hearings, like François Bayrou last year when he was tried with other MoDem executives for acts of the same nature. One exception, however, this Tuesday: she will not come to court to attend Michel Barnier’s speech to the Assembly. As a referee somewhat shaken by the justice system.
