Conviction upheld for Marine Le Pen in European Parliament fraud case
The Paris Court of Appeal has upheld Marine Le Pen's conviction for misappropriation of public funds. She has been sentenced to three years' imprisonment, of which one year is to be served under electronic monitoring, and fined 100,000 euros. The verdict nonetheless allows her to stand in the 2027 p
Conviction upheld for Marine Le Pen in European Parliament fraud case
The Paris Court of Appeal has delivered its verdict in the case of embezzlement of funds from the European Parliament. The leader of the National Rally has been found guilty, but the modification of the ineligibility sentence opens the path for her to the 2027 presidential election.
Marine Le Pen announced her decision on Tuesday evening on the TF1 channel, a few hours after the court of appeal's judgment. The head of the far-right party confirmed that she would seek the highest office for the fourth time. She also indicated her intention to file an appeal to the Court of Cassation.
The Paris court has imposed on Marine Le Pen a sentence of three years' imprisonment, of which two years are suspended. The custodial year is to be served in the form of home confinement with electronic monitoring. A fine of 100,000 euros has also been imposed.
The decisive element for her political future concerned ineligibility. The judges set a ban of 45 months, of which 30 months are suspended. The remaining 15 months are counted from 31 March 2025, the date on which the court of first instance had ordered the provisional enforcement of the earlier sentence.
This means that the non-suspended portion of the ban has already been served. The court of appeal determined that disregarding the period elapsed since the first judgment would infringe the principle of freedom of candidacy and the freedom of choice of citizens.
Formally, Marine Le Pen is therefore no longer subject to a ban that would prevent her from running in 2027. However, the court did not acquit her and maintained the finding of her participation in the misappropriation of public funds.
The main practical obstacle remains the sentence of one year under home confinement with electronic monitoring. The precise modalities will be determined by the judge responsible for the application of sentences, who will determine in particular the times and conditions for leaving the home.
According to the Associated Press news agency, electronic monitoring in France does not imply a total prohibition on leaving the house. The conditions of movement are determined individually by the judge responsible for the application of sentences. The legislation also provides for possibilities of sentence reduction and conditional release, but none of these decisions are automatic.
The case concerned funds intended for the recruitment of parliamentary assistants of the former National Front, now the National Rally. The court of appeal established that certain persons paid from European Parliament funds were in fact carrying out missions for the national party, and not work related to the mandate of the MEPs.
According to the official statement of the court of appeal, the mechanism operated for more than eleven years. The proceedings covered the period from 2004 to 2016, and the judges examined 28 contracts. The amount of embezzled funds was estimated at 2.8 million euros.
Marine Le Pen was found guilty of misappropriation of public funds between 1 September 2009 and 14 February 2016, as well as complicity in misappropriation between 16 January 2011 and 17 January 2016.
The court emphasised that it had not found any personal enrichment of the MEPs. The advantage benefited the political party, whose employees were financed by means intended for parliamentary activity. The National Rally was also sentenced to a fine of 2 million euros, of which 1 million is suspended, as well as to a confiscation of an additional 1 million euros.
Source: Gazeta Prawna
Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna