The Paris prosecutor’s office has asked the criminal court to review a case that alleges that Marine Le Pen’s far-right party misused European Union funds for jobs related to domestic politics.
(Bloomberg) — The Paris prosecutor’s office has asked the criminal court to review a case that alleges that Marine Le Pen’s far-right party misused European Union funds for jobs related to domestic politics.
Prosecutors are seeking a trial for 11 European lawmakers from the National Front party (now called the National Rally), including Le Pen and her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, on charges of misuse of public funds, the office said in a statement.
Marine Le Pen, Jean-Marie Le Pen and four others, as well as the National Rally party, may also face charges of complicity in misuse of public funds. In addition, officials have requested a trial for 13 parliamentary assistants on charges of receiving the misappropriated funds.
“We contest this view, which appears to misrepresent the work of opposition deputies and their assistants,” the National Rally said in a statement. “We’ll fully present our arguments in front of the court.”
The case stems from allegations that National Front parliamentary assistants concurrently held jobs within the party that appeared “incompatible” with their EU roles, the prosecutor’s office said.
Marine Le Pen, who has denied wrongdoing, was charged for misuse of funds in 2017 after refusing to be questioned by French judges investigating the case.
In an interview, Louis Alliot, the Mayor of Perpignan and a senior National Rally member who was named in the case, called it a political ploy.
“The requisitions are coming, as if by chance, in an election year when the party is on a roll,” he said, in a reference to Sunday’s election for the French Senate.
The National Rally has become the largest opposition force against President Emmanuel Macron. Marine Le Pen has made it to the second round in the three last presidential elections, narrowing the gap each time.
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