the essential
Marine Le Pen reacted on TF1 at 8 p.m. to the prosecution's requisitions in the trial of the RN's European parliamentary assistants. If she is sentenced to 5 years of ineligibility, she will not be able to run for president in 2027. She denounces “a political death sentence”.
Marine Le Pen counterattacks. If she had reacted to the release of the trial of the European parliamentary assistants of the RN, Wednesday evening in Paris, she spoke at greater length on the 8 p.m. news on TF1 on Friday evening. The president of the RN group in the National Assembly risks 5 years in prison, including 2 years subject to change, a sentence of 300,000 euros and a sentence of 5 years of ineligibility with provisional execution. If the court followed these requisitions, Marine Le Pen would not be able to run in the 2027 presidential election.
?️ “A revolting indictment”
▶️ Threatened with 5 years of ineligibility and 5 years in prison, two of which are closed, after the prosecution's requisitions as part of the RN trial, @MLP_official reacts in the #20H d’ @ACCoudray pic.twitter.com/bMFa4mlF2c
— TF1Info (@TF1Info) https://twitter.com/TF1Info/status/1857503570486046822?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
On TF1, Marine Le Pen was offensive against the prosecution. “This indictment is revolting. It is profoundly outrageous. It calls for convictions that are out of proportion, going so far as to request the political death penalty with provisional execution against me,” she said. “This feeling of revolt that I feel, millions of French people feel it with me”
?️ “The idea that we can deprive the French of their choice is a very violent attack on democracy” insists @MLP_official
▶️ #LE20H @ACCoudray pic.twitter.com/5NzvQ78I6w
— TF1Info (@TF1Info) https://twitter.com/TF1Info/status/1857505705374232871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Always offensive, and claiming to be innocent, Marine Le Pen continues: “I arrived at this trial as a simple citizen. I realized that it was not the litigant who was being judged, but the political target.” She is well aware of this: “My political survival will depend on the implementation of this death penalty with provisional execution.” Indeed, with this provisional execution, ineligibility would apply immediately and would remain valid even in the event of an appeal by Marine Le Pen. She wouldn't be able to run for president in 2 1/2 years.
Also read:
RN trial: five years in prison and five years of ineligibility required against Marine Le Pen, 2 million euros fine against the party
Europe, the RN's “cash cow”
In its submissions, the prosecution estimated that Marine Le Pen was at the “center” of an “organized system” aimed at making the European Parliament the “cash cow” of the FN, former name of the National Rally. She described a “centralized management system” established to “empty” the envelopes of 21,000 euros per month to which MEPs were entitled, to pay “fictitious” parliamentary assistants who actually worked for the party (as bodyguard, graphic designer or secretary), with a view to “relieving finances”. The European Parliament calculated its financial damage at 4.5 million euros.
26 defendants were tried for embezzlement of public funds, complicity or concealment, including 9 former RN MEPs, 12 former parliamentary assistants, accountants, the treasurer and the party itself.
The judgment will be deliberated next week and will be delivered in early 2025
“The magistrates are independent”, recalls Didier Migaud
The president of the RN Jordan Bardella and many elected officials of the RN published photos of themselves with Marine Le Pen on X under the hashtag #JeSoutiensMarine.
Many elected officials from all political stripes have reacted since the requisitions on Wednesday. The Minister of Justice Didier Migaud, while refusing to comment on an individual case, recalled that “the magistrates are independent” and “judge based on the law passed by the legislator”.
