French prosecutor seeks 5-year ban from office against French far-right leader

14/11/2024 5:44

        The Paris prosecutor on
        Wednesday requested a five-year prison sentence and a five-year
        ban from public office against far-right leader Marine Le Pen,
        at a trial where she and 24 others are accused of embezzling
        European Union funds.
        
        The trial, which comes almost a decade after initial
        investigations started, threatens to undermine her party's
        efforts to polish its image ahead of a 2027 presidential vote
        many believe she can win.
        
        On Wednesday, the Paris prosecutor requested a 300,000-euro
        ($316,860) fine, five years in prison and an ineligibility
        sentence against Marine Le Pen, with provisional execution. If
        the court finds her guilty of the charges with this provisional
        execution, Le Pen will not be able to run in elections even if
        she appeals the judgment.
        
        "I note that the prosecution is being extremely outrageous
        in its demands, particularly with the request for provisional
        execution, which it wants to impose on everyone being
        prosecuted," Le Pen told reporters while leaving court.
        
        Le Pen, the RN party itself, and 24 others - party
        officials, employees, former lawmakers and parliamentary
        assistants - are all accused of using European Parliament money
        to pay staff in France who were working for their party, which
        at the time was called the National Front.
        
        "I am not surprised by the prosecution's request for
        provisional execution. There is a consistency in the
        prosecution's demands," Patrick Maisonneuve, the European
        Parliament's lawyer, said.
        
        The trial will last until Nov. 27.