In France today, September 30, the trial of a number of people associated with the National Party begins unification, including over the leader of the political force Marine Le Pen herself.
As reported by BFMTV.
The case of the National Front assistants
Thus, 27 people, including Marine Le Pen, will appear before the Paris criminal court in the case of fictitious positions of assistants in the European Parliament. The mayor of Perpignan and Le Pen's ally will also be in the dock — Louis Alliot, father and founder of the National Front Jean-Marie Le Pen and others.
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The defendants are accused of embezzling funds and sponsoring the National Front (since 2018 the National Rally) from the funds of the European Parliament through the fictitious hiring of assistants.
What are the defendants accused of
On 9 March 2015, the French judiciary received an anonymous report from the European Parliament, according to which 20 National Front parliamentary assistants hired to assist MEPs also hold official positions in the party. But according to European law, money for the payment of assistants to MEPs cannot be paid to people who officially hold positions in the party.
Thus, the cases are being investigated on charges of breach of trust, fraud, and official forgery, since a mechanism was created to finance the party using money from the European Parliament.
We are talking about almost 3 million euros between 2004 and 2016, which is 21,000 euros per month for assistants' fees.
For example, one employee hired as an assistant in the European Parliament was in fact Jean-Marie Le Pen's personal secretary. Another assistant, who also received a salary from the European Parliament, was in fact based in the city of Nanterre most of the time.
Who are the defendants in the case
In addition to Marine Le Pen and her father, the defendants in the case include former treasurer Walerand de Saint-Just, former vice-presidents of the party Bruno Gollnisch, Marie-Christine Arnaoutou, Louis Aliot, the party's secretary general from 2014 to 2017 Nicolas Bay, and deputy and spokesman for the National Rally Julien Odoul.
Former National Front President Jean-Marie Le Pen is expected to be absent from the trial due to health reasons.
The former party leaders face 10 years in prison and a 10-year ban on holding office under the charges.
Marine Le Pen's central role
Marine Le Pen, who served as an MEP from 2004 to 2017 and took over as party leader in 2011, already has some experience in the courts. In June 2017, she was charged with embezzlement of public funds. Judges believe that Le Pen could not have been unaware of the fraud and was even at the origins of this mechanism.
The investigation relied on an email found during a search of the party's headquarters and signed in 2014 after the European elections. The National Front then came out on top in the election, winning 24 seats.
The treasurer warned Marine Le Pen: In the coming years, we will only get out of this situation if we achieve significant savings thanks to the European Parliament and if we receive additional payments.
The testimony collected during the investigation also noted that Marine Le Pen asked MEPs to hire only one parliamentary assistant, and that the rest of the budget would be given to the National Front.
