The trial of Marine Le Pen and 26 other officials from the French far-right National Rally party begins on Monday, with accusations of embezzling European Union funds. The case could derail Le Pen's political ambitions ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The nine-week trial will be closely watched as Le Pen remains a strong contender to succeed Emmanuel Macron. A new government dominated by centrists and conservatives recently took office after the June-July legislative elections. Some observers expect the trial could prevent National Rally lawmakers from fully playing their opposition role in Parliament.
The National Rally and its officials are accused of using money meant for EU parliamentary aides to pay staff who instead did political work for the party between 2004 and 2016. Le Pen denies wrongdoing and claims the case is politically driven. “Parliamentary assistants do not work for the Parliament. They are political assistants to elected officials, political by definition,” she argued.
If found guilty, Le Pen and her co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 1 million euros each. Additional penalties, such as ineligibility to run for office, could be imposed, potentially destroying Le Pen's goal to mount another presidential bid. She was runner-up to Macron in 2017 and 2022.
The European Parliament's legal team is seeking 2.7 million euros in compensation. The party has already repaid 1 million euros, of which 330,000 euros were linked to Le Pen's alleged misuse of funds. The case stems from a 2015 alert by then-European Parliament President Martin Schulz.
