France Defense lawyer wants Le Pen acquitted in trial over EU money

With the defense's plea, the trial against France's right-wing nationalist Marine Le Pen for possible bogus employment of employees in the European Parliament has entered the home stretch. The 56-year-old and 27 other defendants are accused of embezzling public funds before a criminal court in Paris.

The central accusation is that Le Pen's Rassemblement National party received money from the European Parliament for parliamentary assistants who had worked for the party in part or in full. A total of almost seven million euros is allegedly involved.

Defense lawyer deplores attempt at "political elimination"

On the last day of the trial, Marine Le Pen's defense lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, pleaded for an acquittal for the leading figure of the right-wing party. The prosecution is trying to achieve the "political elimination" of Le Pen, said the defense lawyer in his plea, which lasted several hours. The practice accused of the Rassemblement National regarding the use of parliamentary assistants had long been common practice in other parties in the EU Parliament.

The affair has been a burden for Le Pen and her party for years. A guilty verdict could be explosive for Le Pen because the public prosecutor's office has demanded that she lose her right to stand for election for five years, among other things. Such a sentence would mean that Le Pen would no longer be able to be elected to public office for a period of time. The prosecution demanded that the sentence be applied provisionally - i.e. after the verdict and not only after a potentially lengthy run through the courts. This could torpedo the 56-year-old's ambitions to run again in the upcoming presidential election in 2027.

Judgments are not expected until spring 2025.

SDA