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 1. News
 2. Politics


PROSECUTORS REQUEST BAN ON MARINE LE PEN RUNNING FOR PUBLIC OFFICE IN
EMBEZZLEMENT TRIAL

The three-time presidential candidate is accused of having embezzled EU funds,
charges she denies.

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Marine Le Pen said during her trial last week that she was planning to run for
the French presidency for a fourth time. | Ian Langsdon/AFP via Getty Images
November 13, 2024 8:03 pm CET
By Victor Goury-Laffont

Prosecutors on Wednesday asked that far-right French lawmaker Marine Le Pen be
found guilty of embezzlement, sentenced to prison and barred from running for
public office — including the French presidency — for the next five years.

Le Pen, her National Rally party, and 24 other individuals — including current
and former French lawmakers and MEPs — are accused of illicitly using European
Parliament funds to pay parliamentary assistants for work on party business
rather than on EU affairs from 2004 to 2016. Le Pen and her co-defendants have
all denied the charges.

Prosecutors asked that Le Pen receive the harshest sentence of all, noting that
she was both an MEP and party leader while some of the crimes purportedly took
place. They asked the judge to give her five years in prison, three of which
would be suspended, and fine her €300,000. The ban on running for public office
would extend past 2027, when the next presidential election is scheduled to take
place.

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Crucially, prosecutors also asked that the sentence be immediately executed,
even if Le Pen were to appeal. Typically an appeal means that penalties in a
case are suspended unless the presiding judge determines otherwise.

“It’s clear that the only thing the public prosecutors wanted was Marine Le
Pen’s exclusion from political life,” Le Pen told reporters after court had
adjourned.

During the trial last week, Le Pen said that she was planning to run for the
French presidency for a fourth time, and that “millions of French people would
be deprived of their presidential candidate” if she is barred from doing so.

Shortly before announcing the requested sentencing, prosecutor Louise Neyton
urged the court to take into account the “unprecedented” nature of the
embezzlement due to the long period of time over which the system allegedly took
place and the estimated damages.

The accused “made the European Parliament their cash cow and were looking to
continue to do so,” Neyton said. “If the European Parliament had not blown the
whistle, the facts would have continued and the embezzlement would have been
even greater.”

The defense will now be given the opportunity to make its case before the judge,
who will announce a verdict date before Nov. 27. The verdict itself is expected
early next year.

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On Tuesday, the Parliament urged that all accused be found guilty. It estimated
the financial damage to taxpayers at €4.5 million, and said it would seek an
additional €300,000 in compensation.

The far-right leader, drawing a page from United States President-elect Donald
Trump’s playbook, portrayed the trial as politically motivated and accused the
lead judge of “biased” conduct.

While Le Pen, a seasoned public speaker, has managed to keep her composure
during the trial, many of her co-defendants have been unable to make a
convincing case for themselves. Evidence put forward in court showed that many
individuals under contract as legislative assistants had rarely, if ever, been
to the Parliament, and in some cases had had limited to no contact with the MEPs
they purportedly assisted.

Prosecutors asked that the National Rally be fined €2 million and all the
accused receive temporary bans on running for public office ranging from one to
five years.

Related Tags
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Donald Trump Marine Le Pen


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