Prosecutor demands imprisonment and election ban in party financing case

The Paris prosecutor has requested a five-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from political office for far-right leader Marine Le Pen in the illegal party financing case.

Nicolas Barret wanted the ban to come into force immediately after the decision, even if his defense team objected, and stated that Le Pen would not be able to run for president again in 2027.

He and more than 20 other senior party officials are accused of hiring assistants who worked on party affairs rather than the European Parliament, which paid them.

Rejecting the accusations, Le Pen told journalists that the requested sentence was a “disgrace” and accused the prosecution of trying to “destroy” the National Rally (RN) party.

In his statement after the hearing in the French capital, where he was tried together with 24 other defendants, he said, “I think the prosecutor’s office’s wish is to deprive the French people of the opportunity to vote for the person they want.” he said.

Le Pen lost to Emmanual Macron It rose from 58.55% to 41.45% in the last presidential election in 2022, but the RN is the largest among multiple parties in the National Assembly.

The RN leader is seeking a prison sentence and a ban from political office, as well as a fine of 300,000 euros (£249,000; $319,000).

The proposed prison sentence is “convertible” and France’s AFP news agency says Le Pen “will not necessarily go to prison”.

However, the ban on political office will come into effect immediately and will not delay the appeal process as some expected.

The prosecutor requested that the ban be applied to all 25 defendants.

“The law applies to everyone,” Mr Barret told the court.

Defendants and the party itself as a legal entity EU accused of siphoning parliamentary funds To pay the salaries of party workers.

According to the prosecution, for several years Le Pen oversaw a system in which RN staff from Paris were “recruited” as EU parliamentary assistants in Brussels.

It is argued in court that these RN officials rarely set foot in the EU parliament and have no role there.

Le Pen argued that parliamentary assistants, who are paid by the Brussels parliament, naturally get involved in politics because that is what attracted them to the job in the first place.

RN president Jordan Bardella, who is not a defendant in the case, described the prosecution’s demands as an “attack on democracy” in his post about X.

“The prosecution is not acting fairly,” he said. “He is trying to persecute Marine Le Pen and take revenge.”

European Parliament lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve said he was not surprised by the requested penalty.

“There is consistency in the prosecution’s demands,” according to the Reuters news agency.

The hearing will last until November 27.