The countdown has begun for the mayor of Perpignan since the requisitions of the prosecutors of the Paris judicial court were revealed this Wednesday, November 13, 2024. They called for the conviction of Louis Aliot, for embezzlement of public funds when he was an MEP, to 18 months in prison, 12 of which are suspended, a fine of 30,000 euros but also an additional sentence of 3 years of ineligibility accompanied by provisional execution. Explanations.
Three years of ineligibility with provisional execution: the sentence requested Wednesday by prosecutors Nicolas Barret and Louise Neyton against Louis Aliot in the context of the affair of the alleged fictitious parliamentary assistants of the National Front could well thwart the political career of the RN mayor of Perpignan and national vice-president of the party. The prosecution explained that the judicial authority “was not accountable for ambitions” policies of the defendants, who moreover “had 10 years to prepare for it.”
Without this “provisional execution”, as soon as the defendants appeal, ineligibility is suspended until all appeals have been purged. Which can last for years. However, if the Paris court follows the line of the prosecutors, the worst scenario would play out in a few months for Louis Aliot.
The trial which began on September 30 must continue for two more weeks. For six half-days of hearing (November 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27) devoted to the pleadings of the defense lawyers, including the council of the mayor of Perpignan Me Nicolay Fakiroff who should intervene in the last. At the end, the hearing will be closed and the judgment reserved. It will probably not be returned until March 2025. This is the crucial moment for Louis Aliot.
If the court pronounces a sentence of ineligibility with a provisional execution, the mayor of Perpignan will be immediately “resigned” by the prefecture from this mandate, but also from that of departmental councilor. And as a result, he will also lose his vice-presidency of the urban community. (Only MPs are protected and can keep their seats). In addition, if the court follows the requisitions, Louis Aliot, who refuses to consider this option according to his press release published Wednesday evening on social networks, would be prohibited from running in any local or national elections for three years (five years for Marine Le Pen). That is until 2028. Well after the next municipal elections in Perpignan in 2026.
