France's Le Pen denies wrongdoing as she and her party go on trial accused of embezzling EU funds

PARIS (AP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen denied violating any rules as she and her National Rally party and two dozen others went on trial on Monday, accused of embezzling European Parliament funds, in a case that has the potential to derail her political ambitions.

Le Pen told reporters she remained confident as “we have not violated any political and regulatory rules of the European Parliament.” She vowed to present the judges with “extremely serious and extremely solid arguments.″

She also said that she intended to attend the trial's hearings “as much as possible” as she wants to advocate for the “freedom” of members of parliament to use the means they need to do their job.

Upon their arrival in the Paris courtroom, packed with journalists and the general public, Le Pen and other National Rally members appeared smiling and relaxed, casually greeting each other before listening carefully to various lawyers’ preliminary remarks.

A historic figure of the far-right party, former MEP Bruno Gollnisch told the court that “the whole procedure is contrary to the constitutional principle of separation of powers.”

The nine-week trial will be closely watched by Le Pen’s political rivals as she is a strong contender in the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron when the next presidential election takes place in 2027.

It comes as a new government dominated by centrists and conservatives just came into office in the wake of the June-July legislative elections. Some observers expect the trial could prevent National Rally lawmakers, including Le Pen herself, from fully playing their opposition role in Parliament as they would be busy focusing on the party's defense.

Le Pen said she will speak Tuesday at the National Assembly, where new Prime Minister Michel Barnier is to make his general policy speech.

Since stepping down as party leader three years ago, Le Pen has sought to position herself as a mainstream candidate capable of appealing to a broader electorate. Her efforts have paid off, with the party making significant gains in recent elections at both the European and national levels. But a guilty verdict could seriously undermine her bid to take the Elysee.

The National Rally and 27 of its top officials are accused of having used money destined for EU parliamentary aides to pay staff who instead did political work for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. The National Rally was called National Front at the time.

Up to 10 years in prison

Le Pen, whose party has softened its anti-EU stance in recent years, denies wrongdoing.

“Parliamentary assistants do not work for the Parliament. They are political assistants to elected officials, political by definition,” she previously said. “You ask me if I can define the tasks I assigned to my assistants; it depends on each person’s skills. Some wrote speeches for me, and some handled logistics and coordination.”

If found guilty, Le Pen and her co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 1 million euros ($1.1 million) each. Additional penalties, such as the loss of civil rights or ineligibility to run for office, could also be imposed, a scenario that could hamper, or even destroy, Le Pen’s goal to mount another presidential bid after Macron’s term ends. Le Pen was runner-up to Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.

She served as party president from 2011 to 2021 and now heads the group of RN lawmakers at the French National Assembly.

Despite her denial, her party has already paid back 1 million euros to the European Parliament, the Parliament’s lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve said. Of that amount, 330,000 euros were directly linked to Marine Le Pen’s alleged misuse of funds.

A longstanding controversy

The legal proceedings stem from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities about possible fraudulent use of European funds by members of the National Front.

Schulz also referred the case to the European Anti-Fraud Office, which launched a separate probe into the matter.

The European Parliament’s suspicions were further heightened when a 2015 organizational chart showed that 16 European lawmakers and 20 parliamentary assistants held official positions within the party — roles unrelated to their supposed duties as EU parliamentary staff.

A subsequent investigation found that some assistants were contractually linked to different MEPs than the ones they were actually working for, suggesting a scheme to divert European funds to pay party employees in France.

Misuse of public funds alleged

Investigating judges concluded that Le Pen, as party leader, orchestrated the allocation of parliamentary assistance budgets and instructed MEPs to hire individuals holding party positions. These individuals were presented as EU parliamentary assistants, but in reality, were allegedly working for the National Rally in various capacities.

The European Parliament’s legal team is seeking 2.7 million euros in compensation for financial and reputational damages. This figure corresponds to the 3.7 million euros allegedly defrauded through the scheme, minus the 1 million euros already paid back.

During the 2014 European elections, the National Front won a record 24 MEP seats, finishing first with 24.8% of the vote, ahead of the center-right and the Socialists. This surge resulted in a substantial financial windfall for the party, which faced severe financial problems at the time.

An audit of the party’s accounts between 2013 and 2016 revealed that it was running a deficit of 9.1 million euros by the end of 2016. Yet, the party still had a cash balance of 1.7 million euros and had lent 1 million euros to Le Pen’s 2017 presidential campaign, while also holding 87,000 euros in loans to Cotelec, its funding association.

At the time, the party was also indebted to a Russian bank for 9.4 million euros, a loan taken out in 2014 for 6 million euros.

Suspected systemic practice

The investigation uncovered many irregularities involving prominent party members.

Thierry Légier, the long-time bodyguard of Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie, was listed as his parliamentary assistant. But his resume did not reference this role, and he made no mention of it in his 2012 autobiography. Légier admitted during the investigation that he was not interviewed and signed his employment contract without fully understanding his official role.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the National Front from 1972 to 2011, will not appear in court alongside his former colleagues due to health concerns. Now 96, he was deemed unfit to testify by a court in June. He has 11 prior convictions, including for violence against a public official and hate speech.

He has denied wrongdoing during his time as party leader, stating that the “pool” of assistants was common knowledge. “I did not choose which assistants were assigned to me. That was decided by Marine Le Pen and others. I only signed the contracts,” he said.

After hearing a judge read the charges in court on Monday afternoon, Le Pen said she will “answer all the questions the court may ask.

The trial is scheduled to last until Nov. 27.

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Vaux-Montagny reported from Lyon, France. Associated Press writer Diane Jeantet in Paris contributed to this report. ___

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