RN trial: Marine Le Pen does not contradict the facts, only their illegality

Marine Le Pen nods her head. The defendant, interviewed on Monday October 14 during the trial of the case of collaborators of FN/RN MEPs, denies the comments reported to her by Patrick Maisonneuve, lawyer for the European Parliament. “No, that’s not true,” annoys the boss of the French far right as she begins the first of her three days of hearing.

The president of the court, Bénédicte de Perthuis, then sends her back to the ropes: “The words mentioned by M^e Maisonneuve come from a written statement that you sent to the investigation since you did not wish to answer its questions. » Touched.

What statement is this? In 2017, when collaborators of FN/RN MEPs were accused of having actually worked for their party while receiving public funds, Marine Le Pen wrote: “When parliamentary assistants were not strictly occupied with parliamentary tasks, they could, at the request of their MP, work for the party. » The president adds: “What you are saying is that they had the right to work for the party since they did not have much work in the European Parliament…”

A very vertical vision of parliamentarism

For the civil party, this constitutes a confession. So far quiet, Marine Le Pen then changes her tone. Her black suit jacket flaps as she defends herself with more vigor. “You are looking for the little beast. The first question is: does an MP work for himself? I consider that the political activity of an elected official is for the benefit of his party and is inseparable from his mandate. she maintains, without calling into question the fact that the collaborators were able to work for the party and not for their parliamentarian.

Expanding on what it is for her “the political activity of a deputy”, ranging from participation in meetings to media interventions, she maintains that, more than legislative work, the mission of an RN parliamentarian would above all be to lead a permanent campaign for the next elections.

“How do you articulate this concept with the principle of independence of the vote of deputies? » then questions the prosecution. “There are voting instructions, replies the current president of the RN group to the Assembly. The deputies are not obliged to follow them, nothing will happen to them other than not being reinvested. »

In addition to delivering his very vertical vision of the role of deputy, these statements serve his defense. For her, since the main mission of a deputy is “political activity for the benefit of the movement”, then, by serving the party, the parliamentary assistants would have served, indirectly, the parliamentarian to whom they were attached…

Even wrapped in a convoluted demonstration, this argument has little chance of convincing the court, believes M^e Maisonneuve: “I only stick to strictly legal questions. However, working for a party when you are a parliamentary assistant is strictly prohibited. » Marine Le Pen still has two days to find better.