A “severity” of the prosecution “unjustified, gratuitous” and requisitions in the form of “a weapon of mass destruction of the democratic game”. On the last day of the RN trial, Marine Le Pen’s defense will try this Wednesday afternoon to convince the court that the leader of the far right is “innocent” and does not deserve the “political death”, demanded according to her by the prosecution.
The last of the defense lawyers to speak, Mr. Rodolphe Bosselut began to plead from 1:30 p.m. Like the lawyers of 24 other defendants before him, the lawyer warns that he will “plead for acquittal”. But before that, he has “a few observations”. Particularly on the requisitions of the public prosecutor’s office, who requested five years in prison for his client, two of which could be suspended, a fine of 300,000 euros and above all a sentence of ineligibility with provisional execution – which would apply immediately.
Video“It is my political death that is being demanded”: on TF1, Marine Le Pen violently attacks the prosecution after her indictment
This 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.
Five years in prison required, including two prison terms
“These requisitions are a weapon of mass destruction of the democratic game,” thunders Me Bosselut. “It doesn’t just concern Marine Le Pen, it concerns at least 13 million voters or even the entire electorate, or even the sincerity of the vote, it’s not nothing,” he insists. Beyond “citizen emotion”, we need “legal emotion”.
In this case, “provisional execution would have disproportionate legal consequences,” he said. “Irremediable, definitive”. This “severity” of the prosecution is “unjustified, gratuitous”, a “demand for political elimination”. It “casts doubt on the very intentions of the judicial institution,” he accuses.
The day after the requisitions, the “violence” and “excess” of which she denounced, Marine Le Pen summed up: “It is my political death that they are demanding”. The prosecution had justified it by the risk of “reiteration” 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” put in place to pay “fictitious” parliamentary assistants with European money, they did not demonstrate any “questioning” during the hearing. », Accused the prosecution. “We are not here in a political forum, but a judicial one, and the law, the law applies to everyone.”
The court will announce the date of rendering the judgment
Me Rodolphe Bosselut began his argument by talking about his client. A good number of the defendants made the trip and are seated behind the leader of the far right. “She came almost every day with the desire to explain herself, to convince you of her total good faith.” Not “naive” about what she risked, but with the “strength” of “those who know they are innocent”, pleads her lawyer.
“She answered all the questions seriously and sincerely, did not evade any of them, she remained on the stand for several hours… We can blame her for many things, but not for having disdained the court or the judicial institution like the prosecution said,” he maintains. “Is there any arrogance in defending oneself? »
In this case filled with “passion”, “pressure” and issues” – “God knows there are some” – Me Bosselut asks the court to “return to the law”. “Beyond biases, preconceived ideas,” he says. “What I would like to convince the court of is that the parliamentary practice in the European Parliament from 2004 to 2016 accused of my client and the other defendants was not only banal, innocuous, because shared by all European parties, but exempt from any fraudulent intention because it is considered admitted.”
The court will announce the date of rendering the judgment – not for several months – at the end of the hearing. Before that, President Bénédicte de Perthuis will give the floor to the defendants one last time. Marine Le Pen assured the day before that she would have “nothing more to add” after her lawyer.
