Today, Monday 30 September, the trial of M. Le Pen and other French right-wingers, accused of receiving 7 million euros to finance the non-existent staff of the European Parliament, begins in Paris.
In addition to M. Le Pen, who leads the party “National Association»among the 28 people accused of misuse of public funds is her father and party founder J.M. Le Pen. M. Le Pen denies the accusations, which relate to the period from 2004 to 2016 and are directed both against the party “National Association” and against former elected officials and their aides.
We are talking about the fictitious hiring of assistants to French MEPs. The main accusation is that M. Le Pen’s party received money from the European Parliament for assistant parliamentarians who actually worked for the party. The case involves almost 7 million euros. A year ago, M. Le Pen returned 330,000 euros to the European Parliament.
This case has been a serious burden for M. Le Pen and her party for many years. If convicted, the defendants face heavy fines and up to 10 years in prison. They may also be banned from running for elected office for five years, which would put an end to M. Le Pen's candidacy in the next presidential elections in 2027.
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