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Le Pen, her party, and 26 people will be tried over fake European Parliament jobs

Two investigating judges referred Marine Le Pen, the Front National party (now called Rassemblement National), and 26 other people on Friday, December 8, to the Paris criminal court. All are suspected to have taken part in a system of misappropriation of European public funds between 2004 and 2016, the prosecutor’s office said, confirming a Franceinfo report.

The fake jobs inquiry began in 2015 and hung over Le Pen as she sought the French presidency in 2017 and 2022, losing out both times to centrist Emmanuel Macron. She and the others have been charged with embezzlement of public funds and collusion, accused of using parliamentary funds to pay for assistants who in fact worked for her party. Le Pen, who stepped down as an MEP in 2017 after her election to the French parliament, has denied the claims.

Prosecutors allege that starting in 2004, Front National MEPs including Le Pen and her father, party co-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, took part in the fake jobs scheme. The EU Parliament estimated in 2018 that €6.8 million had been embezzled from 2009 to 2017. In total, prosecutors want a trial for 11 MEPs, 12 of their parliamentary assistants and four party collaborators, while the RN party itself faces charges of concealing the wrongdoing.

Shortly after the judges’ decision was announced, the Rassemblement National (RN) asserted that Le Pen had “committed no offense or irregularity.” “We formally contest the accusations made against our members of the European Parliament and parliamentary assistants,” reacted the party, adding that the trial will “finally” give it an opportunity to defend itself “and to put forward common-sense arguments.”

A first hearing on the organization of the trial for embezzlement of public funds and collusion is scheduled for March 27, 2024, with further hearings in October and November 2024, the prosecutor’s office said. “Unfortunately, this decision comes as no surprise,” reacted Rodolphe Bosselut, Le Pen’s lawyer, in a statement.

Prosecutors had requested this trial on September 22. They underlined that “the penalties incurred are 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to €1 million or double the proceeds of the offense” and recalled the possibility of imposing an additional ban on holding public office for up to 10 years.

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