The trial of the French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) over allegations of fictitious employment of European Parliament assistants resumed on Tuesday, in the absence of the most of the 25 defendants, including Marine Le Pen, who was attending a parliamentary session.
Among those present were Thierry Légier, the long-time bodyguard of party leaders, and RN Vice-President Louis Aliot, who was seated alone at the end of a bench in the courtroom.
Presiding judge Bénédicte de Perthuis opened the session by rejecting a preliminary issue raised by Le Pen’s lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, who had asked the court to refer the case to the European Court of Justice.
Questioning in the trial - a politically significant one for Marine Le Pen - is set to begin on Monday.
Le Pen has indicated that she will attend the trial as much as possible, with sessions scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday until 27 November; her lawyer confirmed she would be present on Wednesday.
In total, nine former MEPs from the Front National, including Le Pen, are on trial alongside 12 former parliamentary assistants and four party staffers.
The defendants face charges of embezzlement, concealment or complicity in the offence. They risk ten years in prison, a €1-million fine, and a ten-year ineligibility sentence that could thwart Le Pen’s presidential ambitions for 2027.
Prosecutors allege the party established a “centralised system” between 2004 and 2006, with parliamentary assistants who could scarcely describe their duties and merely held the titles without performing the roles.
Some assistants allegedly never met their official employers or set foot in Parliament.
Moreover, according to the prosecution, they worked solely for the party, which is against EU regulations.
