Marine Le Pen is a hair’s breadth from political death.
AFP
A pleading to conclude two months of hearing: at the RN trial, Marine Le Pen’s defense will try on Wednesday to convince the court that the leader of the far right is “innocent” and does not deserve “political death », claimed according to her by the prosecution.
The last of the defense lawyers to plead, Mr. Rodolphe Bosselut will stand before the magistrates from 1:30 p.m., for approximately three hours.
As the defense of the 24 other defendants did before him (in addition to the National Rally judged as a legal entity), he will request the release of his client, who has continued to protest since the opening of the trial of the assistants of RN MEPs, have not “violated any rules”.
Without convincing the prosecution. In its requisitions two weeks ago, the prosecution demanded five years in prison against the leader of the far right, including two years subject to change, a fine of 300,000 euros, and above all five years of imprisonment. ineligibility with provisional execution – which would apply immediately even in the event of an appeal, and would jeopardize his ambitions for the 2027 presidential election.
“Very serene” at the opening of the trial on September 30, Marine Le Pen was beside herself after the requisitions. In front of the cameras as she left the courtroom, she denounced the “excess” and “violence”.
“I think that the desire of the prosecution is to deprive the French of the ability to vote for those they want” and to “ruin the party” – against whom 4 million euros fine (including 2 firm) were required – said the three-time presidential candidate.
Before adding on television the next day: “it is my political death that is being demanded”.
The request for immediate ineligibility suddenly made the possibility that Marine Le Pen would not be able to run in 2027 very real, and took everyone by surprise, provoking criticism in her political camp and beyond.
Nothing more to add
The prosecution had justified it by the risk of “repetition” of embezzlement of public funds, which had “repeated” for 12 years (between 2004 and 2016) and had only “interrupted” because of the reporting of the European Parliament, which estimated its financial damage at 4.5 million euros.
As for the defendants who denied outright the existence of a “system” set up to pay “fictitious” parliamentary assistants with European money, they did not demonstrate any “questioning” during the hearing. », Accused the prosecution, further emphasizing that the party had already been convicted of embezzlement.
“We are not here in a political forum, but a judicial one, and the law, the law applies to everyone,” concluded the prosecutors.
An indictment resembling a political “manifesto” with “asphyxiating, eliminatory” penalties, was strangled in his pleading on Tuesday by the lawyer for the National Rally, Me David Dassa Le Deist.
Going against the trend of the prosecution which, according to him, “trampled on the separation of powers”, the lawyer called on the court “to rediscover the domain of law”. This trial, “because of the requisitions, has become a symbol of the state of our democracy,” he argued.
The court will announce the date for rendering the judgment – not for several months – on Wednesday at the end of the hearing.
Before that, President Bénédicte de Perthuis will give the floor one last time to the 25 defendants, but it could be brief: several of them have already spoken at the end of their lawyer’s pleading so as not to have to return to the hearing.
And the defense finally convinced the former number 2 of the FN Bruno Gollnisch to pronounce his many last words on Tuesday (more than an hour), rather than the next day after the pleadings of Marine Le Pen’s counsel.
The latter swore Tuesday on the sidelines of the hearing that she would have “nothing more to add” after her lawyer’s pleading.
(afp)
