The Court of Cassation validates the conviction of the RN in the campaign kits affair

The Court of Cassation rejected, on Wednesday June 19, the appeals of the National Rally and those close to Marine Le Pen in the case of campaign kits, the turnkey electoral equipment used by the party’s candidates during the 2012 legislative elections. Tried on appeal for concealment of abuse of corporate assets in March 2023, the RN was sentenced to a fine of 250,000 euros. This conviction is now final. The high court took note of the withdrawal of three of the defendants and rejected the appeals of the three other individuals, as well as the RN and the Jeanne microparty.

The campaign kits consisted of leaflets, posters “personalized”, a website and even services to present accounts in order to the institution responsible for verifying the financing of political parties (CNCCFP). These kits were sold for 16,650 euros to FN candidates (since renamed RN) by the Jeanne association, Marine Le Pen’s micro-party, and provided by the communications company Riwal, headed by Frédéric Chatillon, a former president of the far-right student organization GUD.

For the prosecution, this system hid overvalued benefits, intended to deceive the State, which reimburses the expenses of candidates exceeding 5% of the votes. This system “undermined the rules of democracy”, had judged the court of appeal in announcing the decision. During the trial, the public prosecutor’s office requested a fine of 500,000 euros against the RN. Believing to have been the victim of fraud, the State demanded 11.6 million euros in damages from the party and the defendants.