French far-right leader Marine Le Pen rejects claims of a ‘system’ to misuse EU Parliament funds, as her appeal could decide her 2027 presidential bid.
PARIS: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has rejected claims her party operated a “system” to embezzle European Parliament funds.
Speaking at an appeals trial on Tuesday, the three-time presidential candidate argued the parliamentary assistant cases must be examined individually.
“The term ‘system’ bothers me because it gives the impression of manipulation,” Le Pen said in the dock.
She added that the cases “reflect very different realities”.
A French court last year barred Le Pen from running for office for five years over a fake jobs scam at the European Parliament.
It found her, along with 24 others and the National Rally (RN) party, guilty of misusing EU funds to employ party staff in France from 2004 to 2016.
Le Pen, 11 other individuals, and the party are now appealing the verdict.
The appeal hearings are to last until mid-February, with a decision expected this summer.
If the court upholds the first ruling, Le Pen will be prevented from running in the 2027 presidential election.
This election is widely seen as her best chance to win, as incumbent Emmanuel Macron cannot run again after two consecutive terms.
Le Pen was also handed a four-year prison sentence, with two years suspended, and fined 100,000 euros in the initial trial.
She now again risks a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a one-million-euro fine if the appeal fails.
Le Pen is hoping for an acquittal, or at least a shorter election ban and no house arrest.
As the appeals trial opened last week, she said her party had “no sense” they were committing any offence.
She sought to shift blame onto the European Parliament for not playing a sufficient warning role.
On Thursday, EU Parliament official Didier Klethi said the legislature’s rules were clear.
He stated that EU lawmakers could employ assistants with their monthly staffing stipend, which was 21,379 euros in 2024.
Assistants could engage in political activism, but this was forbidden “during working hours”.