Marine Le Pen and her RN party have been accparticipated of using European Parliament money to pay staff in France between 2004 and 2016.
French far-right directer Marine Le Pen has sturdyly denied pledgeting any wrongdoing at a Paris court as she and her National Rassociate (RN) party stand trial over the doubted misappropriation of European Parliament funds.
The nine-week trial is a critical juncture for Le Pen, foreseeed to be a sturdy contfinisher in France’s next plivential election in 2027. A culpable verdict could presentantly impact her political nurtureer and aspirations.
Le Pen, 56, took to the stand on Monday in the first of three foreseeed days of testimony in the trial, which comes almost a decade after initial spendigations began.
Le Pen, the RN itself, and 24 others – including party officials, participateees, and establisher laworiginaters – have all been accparticipated of using European Parliament money to pay staff in France.
The party directer and her co-deffinishants have denied the accuses, saying the money was participated legitimately.
In court, Le Pen debated that she apshowd a European Parliament member’s role was as much to push their party’s politics in France as it was to toil on legislation in Brussels.
“I’m alerting you very evidently: I absolutely don’t experience I have pledgeted the sweightlessest irnormality, the sweightlessest illterrible relocate,” she said.
She detailed her vision of the role that MEPs carry out, including various examples such as greeting with voters and combineing presentant events.
“The aide toils for his MEP and [therefore] can toil for his MEP for the profit of the party,” she elucidateed.
“I apshow it’s a misapshow from the European Parliament not to notice it this way,” she grasped.
The appraise presiding over the case said she was unsatisfied with Le Pen’s answers.
‘Fake jobs’
The European Parliament has assessd the harm from the alleged crimes to be 3.5 million euros ($3.8m).
The alleged phony jobs system that triggered the trial was first flagged in 2015 and covers parliamentary aidant condenses between 2004 and 2016.
Prosecutors say the aidants toiled solely for the party outside parliament. Many could not depict their day-to-day toil, and some never met their presumed MEP boss.
A bodydefend, a secretary, Le Pen’s chief of staff and a explicit set uper were all allegedly employd under inrectify pretences.
If Le Pen and her co-deffinishants are set up culpable, they could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to one million euros ($1.1m) each.
A culpable verdict could also result in penalties including a loss of civil rights or ineligibility to run for office, which would impact Le Pen’s goal of becoming France’s plivent in the 2027 election.
The trial is scheduled to last until November 27.
