The hearing of French far-right politician Marine Le Pen’s appeal began on Tuesday, the 13th of January, and its outcome will determine whether she can run for president in 2027, Reuters reports.
Le Pen was sentenced in March last year after she and eight other former National Alliance (NA) members were found guilty of embezzling more than four million euros in European Union funds. The court ruled that she cannot hold public office for five years, which means she cannot run for president.
The judges noted that between 2004 and 2016, Le Pen and the other defendants used funds earmarked for the activities of the European Parliament to pay party staff. The party itself and a number of parliamentary assistants were found guilty of accepting the money.
In her speech in court on the 13th of January, Le Pen took a different tone from her first trial, in which she strongly denied wrongdoing and accused the judges of succumbing to political bias. Instead, this time, the politician said that if she had done anything wrong, it was not on purpose. She said she wanted the court to understand that she was not aware that she was doing anything illegal:
“The European Parliament did not warn us of anything, as it could have done. I firmly believe we never concealed anything.”
Le Pen was also initially sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were suspended and two under house arrest, as well as a fine of 100,000 euros. Unlike the ban on holding public office, these sanctions did not take effect because Le Pen appealed. The RN and ten other convicts have also appealed.
Le Pen will testify on the 21st and the 22nd of January, and the appeal hearing is scheduled to conclude on the 12th of February.
The EP lawyer said he hoped that the sentences imposed on Le Pen and her colleagues would remain in effect. The verdict is expected to be known by early summer, meaning that for now, hopes of running for president are not lost if the ban is lifted or significantly shortened. If Le Pen is barred from running, her place will be taken by the RN’s 30-year-old president, Jordan Bardella.
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