A Paris court has begun to deliver a verdict in an embezzlement case that could shake up French politics and threaten the career of far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
Ms Le Pen and 24 other officials from her National Rally are accused of using money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to pay staff working for the party between 2004 and 2016, breaking the 27-nation bloc's rules.
Ms Le Pen and her accomplices deny any wrongdoing.
Ms Le Pen's biggest worry is that the court could declare her ineligible to stand in the election “with immediate effect” – even if she appeals.
This could prevent her from running for president in 2027, a scenario she has called “political death.”
On Friday, the Constitutional Council ruled in a separate case that immediate sentencing was constitutional.
If convicted, Ms Le Pen and her accomplices also face up to 10 years in prison. They can appeal the verdict, which would lead to a new trial.
Ms Le Pen came second to President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her party's electoral support has grown in recent years.
The nine-week trial took place in late 2024.
Ms Le Pen has rejected accusations that she led a “system” designed to funnel money from the EU parliament to her party, which she led from 2011 to 2021.
Instead, she argued that it would be acceptable to tailor the work of assistants paid by the European Parliament to the needs of legislators, including some highly political work associated with the party, which at the time was called the National Front.
Giving evidence, Ms Le Pen told the court: “I absolutely do not believe that I have committed the slightest violation, the slightest illegal act.”
The hearing revealed that some of the EU money was used to pay for Ms Le Pen's bodyguard, who was once her father's bodyguard, and her personal assistant.
Prosecutors asked the court to find Ms Le Pen guilty and asked for a sentence of two years in prison and a five-year ban from holding public office.
Ms Le Pen said she believed they were “only interested” in preventing her from running for president.
Prosecutors also asked for convictions for all other co-conspirators, including penalties of up to one year in prison and a fine of €2m (£1.6m) for the party.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
