Embezzling the Future

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French prosecutors requested a jail sentence and a five-year ban from public office for far-right leader Marine Le Pen this week, over charges that she and her National Rally party (RN) embezzled European Parliament funds, Le Monde reported.

Currently, Le Pen and officials from her party are on trial for allegedly using money earmarked for European Parliament aides to pay staff who worked for RN between 2004 and 2015 in France, in violation of the European Union’s regulations.

Prosecutors asked the court to find Le Pen guilty of embezzlement and demanded a five-year jail sentence, including a three-year suspended sentence. They also requested barring her from holding public office for five years, with the ban effective immediately.

If the court approves, the ban would prevent the three-time presidential candidate from running in the 2027 presidential elections, even if her defense team appeals.

Prosecutors also requested RN pay a fine of more than $2 million.

The nine-week trial began in late September and is expected to conclude on Nov. 27, with the verdict due in early 2025, according to Euronews.

Le Pen and RN have denied the accusations, claiming that the prosecutors are “only interested” in preventing her from running for president in 2027. RN leader Jordan Bardella accused the public prosecutor’s office of “seeking to persecute and take revenge on Marine Le Pen.”

Prosecutor Louise Neyton dismissed the accusations, adding that evidence showed an “organized system” of embezzlement by which the party had aimed to “save money.”

Le Pen’s co-defendants – many of whom owe their political or professional careers to her – also testified in court, offering “confounding” explanations, while struggling to justify their work’s connection to the EU parliament in the absence of supporting evidence, the news site reported.

European Parliament authorities say they have lost around $3.4 million through RN’s scheme. While the party has paid back more than $1 million, it insists it is not an admission of guilt.