French far-right leader Le Pen’s embezzlement trial enters final stretch, presidential bid at stake
French prosecutors lay out their proposed sentence in Marine Le Pen's high-stakes EU embezzlement trial on Wednesday, with the far-right leader's presidential ambitions hanging in the balance.
For weeks, Marine Le Pen has thrown all her energy into fighting what she calls unfair accusations that her party embezzled European Parliament funds. France’s leading far-right figure is now facing a crucial moment in a high-profile trial where her eligibility to run for president in 2027 is at stake.
Le Pen is anticipating a guilty verdict, as prosecutors wrap up their case Wednesday and lay out their proposed sentence. The trial is scheduled to finish Nov. 27, with a verdict at a later date.
The National Rally and 25 of its officials, including Le Pen, are accused of having used money intended for EU parliamentary aides instead to pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. The National Rally was called the National Front at the time.
From the outset of the long and complex trial, Le Pen has been a forceful presence, sitting in the front row, staying for long hours into the night and expressing her irritation at allegations she says are wrong.
Le Pen denied accusations she had been at the head of “a system” meant to siphon off EU parliament money to the benefit of her party, which she led from 2011 to 2021.
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