The leader of the Rassemblement National, Marine Le Pen, will appear today at the Paris Criminal Court to face charges of embezzlement of European funds used to pay assistants to MEPs between 2004 and 2016. Along with her, 28 other party officials are accused, including her father Jean-Marie Le Pen. Marine Le Pen has always denied the accusations, but if she and her managers are found guilty, they risk heavy fines and prison sentences of up to 10 years. Furthermore, if convicted, the defendants could also be declared ineligible for five years, which could hinder Le Pen's candidacy in the next presidential elections in 2027.
The accusation against the Rassemblement National is that it used almost seven million euros received from the European Parliament to pay parliamentary assistants who worked for the party. Marine Le Pen returned 330 thousand euros to the European Parliament about a year ago.
