Just like the MoDem, whose trial of European parliamentary assistants ends on Tuesday, November 21, the far-right party is accused of having used European funds between 2004 and 2016 to pay assistants who worked for the party.
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The National Rally is attentive to what has been happening since October 16 to the court Paris correctional for François Bayrou, and for good reason: the same type of trial awaits Marine Le Pen. The date has not yet been set but the three-time presidential candidate is also sent to prison with 26 other members of the former FN. The far-right party is accused of having used European funds between 2004 and 2016 to pay assistants who worked for the party.
The trial of president of the centrist party is therefore a bit of a repetition. “François Bayrou was his best lawyer, he gave them a real lesson in law and democratic practice,” praises one of the defendants, “in his case as in ours, there was never an express desire to misappropriate public money”.
An advisor to Marine Le Pen reads everything about the trial
To avoid missing anything from this trial of the European parliamentary assistants of the MoDem, certain members of the RN sent lawyer friends to the court just to see how the hearings go. A sort of observation mission to make notes and help the RN prepare its defense. There is also an advisor to Marine Le Pen who spends his time on Mediapart to read everything about the trial. “We will see what the judges will remember from the debates of the Bayrou trial” said an RN leader. His trial will serve “alibi before ours”, believes a former Frontist MEP: “the judges will slap Bayrou on the knuckles, then be ruthless with Le Pen, so they will not be accused of making political decisions”.
But this future trial does not worry the National Rally too much. A close friend of Marine Le Pen is clear: in meetings it is a non-subject… Despite the ineligibility which could threaten Marine Le Pen before the 2027 presidential election in the event of conviction. An RN leader plays down the drama: “the timetable will be long”. Clearly, even if there were to be a conviction, with the possible appeals, Marine Le Pen would not necessarily be prevented. “It’s not a threat, we’ll deal with it,” testifies a relative, who is already researching the arguments in preparation for the trial: “the system tries to eliminate a candidate, it hurts her”.