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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, charged with embezzling European Parliament funds, will be questioned at her trial for the first time on Monday in a case that could thwart her presidential ambitions.
Le Pen and two dozen other National Rally (RN) party chiefs are accused of creating fake jobs to embezzle European Parliament money.
Possible sanctions include jail as well as a decade-long ban from public office, which could wreck Le Pen’s hopes of succeeding President Emmanuel Macron in a 2027 election.
Le Pen has addressed the trial since it opened on September 30, but so far has not been subjected to direct questioning.
Le Pen, 56, has denied the charges, saying she had “not broken any rules” and that she was “very calm”.
Last week, she accused the court’s presiding judge, Benedicte de Perthuis, of employing a “tone of partiality”.
Three-time presidential candidate Le Pen at the start of the trial told the Paris criminal court: “I will answer all the questions that the court wants to ask me.”
The RN this year achieved record scores in European elections, performed strongly in France’s legislative vote and could decide the fate of Prime Minister Michel Barnier’s new minority government.
In the dock are the RN party, 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.
The alleged fake jobs system, which was first flagged in 2015, covers parliamentary assistant contracts between 2004 and 2016.
Prosecutors say the assistants 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, a secretary, Le Pen’s chief of staff and a graphic designer were all allegedly hired under false pretences.
Misuse of public funds can be punished with a million-euro ($1.1 million) fine, a 10-year jail term and a 10-year ban from public office.
“The main risk for the president of the RN group in the French National Assembly is not financial, but political,” said French daily Le Monde last month.
If convicted, Le Pen would be able to lodge an appeal, which could delay the final verdict until after the 2027 election, thus allowing her to stand.
European Parliament authorities said the legislature had lost three million euros ($3.4 million) through the jobs scheme.
The RN has paid back one million euros, which it insists is not an admission of guilt.
Prosecutors have said that Le Pen and her father, former party leader Jean-Marie, both signed off on a “centralised system” that picked up pace in 2014.
Now 96, Le Pen senior is among those charged but has been deemed not fit to stand trial.
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