Marine Le Pen Denies Fake Jobs 'System' in Appeal Trial Over EU Funds
The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has appeared at the Palais de Justice in Paris, where she is seeking to overturn last year's guilty verdict in a high-stakes embezzlement case. In her appeal trial, Le Pen strongly denied the existence of any organised "system" within her party to misuse European parliament funds, a verdict that currently bars her from running in the 2027 presidential election.
Denial of Organised Fraud
"The word 'system' bothers me because it gives the impression of a manipulation," Le Pen told the Paris appeals court on Tuesday. The 57-year-old leader of the anti-immigration National Rally, formerly called Front National, insisted she had never instructed members of the European parliament to hire assistants who would instead work for the party headquarters in Paris.
"Never in my life would I ask a member of the European parliament to take assistants to work for the Front National," Le Pen declared to the court. She emphasised that accusations suggesting she had told 23 European parliament members in 2014 that they could have one parliament assistant while the rest of the money "would benefit the party" were completely false.
Background of the Case
Le Pen was considered one of the top contenders for next year's presidential election until March last year, when judges found her guilty of an extensive fake jobs scam at the European parliament spanning from 2004 to 2016. The court ruled she was "at the heart" of a carefully organised system of embezzlement, resulting in a five-year ban from running for public office, a four-year prison sentence (with two years suspended and two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet), and a €100,000 fine.
The case centres on allegations that taxpayer money allocated to European parliament members to pay their assistants based in Strasbourg or Brussels was siphoned off by the party to pay its own workers in France, violating parliamentary rules. These staff in France reportedly had no connection to work undertaken at the European parliament, with the loss to European funds estimated at €4.8 million (£4.2 million).
Key Evidence and Testimony
During questioning, head judge Michèle Agi read from an email cited as evidence of the alleged fake jobs system. In the correspondence, one European parliament member, who had previously been a lawyer, wrote to the party treasurer: "What Marine is asking is equivalent to us signing for fictitious jobs ..." warning that this was likely to be spotted. The treasurer replied: "I think Marine knows all that ..."
Le Pen told the court she was not copied in on this email and had no knowledge of it. She stated that if she had received such a message, she would not have replied as "casually" as the treasurer did. The French politician, who is trained as a lawyer, maintained she had never given European parliament members any "instructions on hiring assistants."
Political Implications and Future
The appeal trial verdict, expected before summer, will determine Le Pen's political future and whether she can make a fourth presidential attempt next year. If her ban is upheld, she would be replaced by her protege and party president, 30-year-old Jordan Bardella. Le Pen has appealed alongside 10 of the 24 party members convicted last year, with the appeal trial continuing until 12 February.
Le Pen dismissed accusations from some former party members as coming from individuals "terribly hostile" to her, comparing the situation to "a divorce." The legal proceedings originated from a 2015 alert raised to French authorities about possible fraud by Martin Schulz, then president of the European parliament.
As the appeal continues, Le Pen maintains her innocence and insists she wants to run again for president, making this trial a critical moment for both her personal political ambitions and the future direction of French far-right politics.
