Marine Le Pen on trial for alleged EU funds misuse

Marine Le Pen, long-time person of France’s far-right National Rally and statesmanlike hopeful, goes connected proceedings successful Paris connected Monday accused of misusing European parliamentary funds.

More than 20 different elder figures successful the enactment are besides facing the aforesaid charges. They are accused of hiring assistants who worked connected enactment affairs alternatively than for the European parliament which paid them.

If Le Pen is recovered guilty, she could look fines and imprisonment – and perchance beryllium declared ineligible to tally for bureau for up to 10 years, hitting her statesmanlike ambitions.

She has denied wrongdoing, and enactment spokesperson Laurent Jacobelli said "we are going to beryllium that determination is nary strategy to embezzle wealth from the EU".

"We are going to beryllium that it is imaginable to beryllium an adjunct to a European parliamentarian and get progressive successful the beingness of the RN (National Rally)," the spokesperson told French media connected Monday.

Upon arriving successful court, Le Pen said she was approaching the proceedings with calmness and insisted she and her associates had violated nary governmental rules.

Le Pen's begetter Jean-Marie Le Pen, 96, who founded the National Front, which became the RN, besides faces charges, but volition not be the proceedings due to the fact that of mediocre health.

The strategy of alleged fake jobs was archetypal flagged successful 2015 and covered contracts for parliamentary assistants betwixt 2004 and 2016.

Le Pen faces proceedings arsenic a long-time enactment person and erstwhile EU lawmaker. Prosecutors allege that 1 of the radical hired arsenic a parliamentary adjunct was really moving arsenic a bodyguard for Le Pen and her father.

Prosecutors are seeking to retrieve much than 3m euros (£2.5m). The RN already paid backmost 1m euros (£834,000) - which it said was not an admittance of guilt.

The proceedings is expected to past for astir 2 months.

Le Pen stepped down arsenic president of the then-National Front successful 2017. She ran successful statesmanlike elections successful 2012, 2017 and 2022, and is gearing up for different imaginable statesmanlike tally successful 2027.

Her enactment has promoted policies against migration - specified arsenic restricting societal payment to French citizens - and pushing for instrumentality and bid and taxation cuts.

She was re-elected to parliament during the archetypal circular of France's parliamentary predetermination successful June.

Her enactment unexpectedly came third, contempt having achieved a decisive triumph successful the European Parliament elections conscionable weeks before.

The near ended up winning the astir legislative seats.

Following the elections, President Emmanuel Macron appointed a right-wing government.

Additional reporting by Europe determination exertion Charles Haviland