Marine Le Pen convicted of misappropriating European Parliament funds
Paris appeal court found the National Rally leader guilty in the case of misuse of European Parliament funds. She was sentenced to three years imprisonment, two suspended, and one year under electronic monitoring.
Marine Le Pen convicted of misappropriating European Parliament funds
Paris appeal court has convicted Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally, in the case of misappropriation of European Parliament funds. The court imposed a sentence of three years imprisonment, two of which are suspended, whilst the final year will be served at home under electronic monitoring by ankle bracelet.
Furthermore, the French political leader has been stripped of eligibility rights for 45 months, with 30 months suspended. The court also imposed a fine of 100,000 euros.
The case concerns the misappropriation of funds intended for the employment of parliamentary assistants at the European Parliament. According to the prosecution, these sums were used to cover the party's personal needs in France instead of the originally declared objectives.
The president of the court, Michelle Azi, described the facts as serious, emphasising that they covered a period of 11 years and three parliamentary mandates. The magistrate insisted that European funds constitute public money and that the actions attributed to Le Pen had damaged the image of European institutions.
Despite the decision, Le Pen theoretically retains the possibility of standing for the French presidency, since the ban on holding public office is essentially limited to 15 months due to the suspended sentence. Nevertheless, she has stated that she would not be a candidate under these conditions, as the electronic monitoring requirement would prevent her from conducting a normal election campaign.
Source: Philenews
Source: Philenews