PARIS: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen went on trial on Monday on charges of embezzling money from the European Parliament, in a high-profile case that could endanger her presidential ambitions. “We have not broken any rules,” the three-time presidential candidate of the far-right National Rally (RN) said before the start of the hearings in Paris, adding she was in a “very calm” mood.

Le Pen and a slew of RN party chiefs face charges they embezzled money from the European Parliament with fake jobs. If convicted, sanctions could include jail but also a decade-long ban from public office which would wreck Le Pen’s hopes of succeeding President Emmanuel Macron in 2027 elections.

The hearings risk undermining Le Pen’s winning streak after National Rally achieved record scores in European elections, performed strongly in France’s early legislative vote and emerged as a kingmaker in Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s minority government.

Le Pen, 56, who hopes to claim the French presidency on her fourth try in 2027, has said she intends to appear in court as much as possible. Twenty-five people including Le Pen herself are on trial, which is set to last until November 27.

In the Paris dock are the RN party itself, nine former MEPs including Le Pen and party vice-president Louis Aliot, spokesman Julien Odoul -- one of nine former parliamentary assistants -- and four RN staff.

First flagged in 2015, the alleged fake jobs system at the RN covers contracts for parliamentary assistants between 2004 and 2016. Prosecutors say the assistants in fact worked exclusively for the party outside parliament.

Many were unable to describe their day-to-day work and some never met their supposed MEP boss or set foot in the parliament building. A bodyguard, secretary, Le Pen’s chief of staff and a graphic designer were all allegedly hired under false pretenses. The misuse of public funds charges bear maximum penalties including a million-euro ($1.1 million) fine, 10 years’ jail and a 10-year bar from public office.

European Parliament authorities say the legislature was embezzled to the tune of three million euros ($3.4 million at today’s rates). The RN has already paid back one million euros, which it insists is not an admission of guilt. The party has for years called the investigation a form of “persecution” and political abuse of the justice system. “Every time the party or its leaders are attacked, it lets them cast themselves as the victim,” said political scientist Nonna Mayer of Paris’s Sciences Po university.

The RN has capitalized on President Emmanuel Macron’s unpopularity after he successfully cast the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections as a straight choice between him and the far right. A shock first-place RN result in June European elections prompted Macron to call snap elections, and his gamble led to conservative Barnier’s uncomfortable minority coalition. Barnier could be toppled at any moment if the leftwing NFP alliance and the RN join forces in a confidence vote, putting Le Pen in a kingmaker role. Polls show the former protest party also enjoys increasingly committed voter support.

One RN lawmaker told AFP that “when I don’t see Marine worried, I’m not worried” ahead of the trial. Historically, “scandals in other parties work in favor of the RN, but scandals at the RN don’t benefit other parties,” University of Tours political scientist Sylvain Crepon told AFP.

‘Don’t like Europe’

Prosecutors say Le Pen and her father, former party leader Jean-Marie, both signed off on a “centralized system” that picked up pace in 2014. Now aged 96, Le Pen senior will not appear in court for health reasons. Several people have testified about a 2014 meeting that one said discussed a clear “fake jobs” structure.

The RN and its former incarnation the National Front (FN) “don’t like Europe. The only thing they like is the European Union’s money,” said Patrick Maisonneuve, representing the European Parliament as a co-plaintiff. Evidence against the party includes contracts for periods as short as a single day to squeeze every last cent out of their spending allowances. One message from party treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just warned about the party’s disastrous finances, writing “we won’t get out of this without making significant savings thanks to the European Parliament”. — AFP