Marine Le Pen should stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds, say prosecutors

The Paris prosecutor’s office has recommended that the far-right leader Marine Le Pen and 23 members of her National Rally party stand trial over the alleged misuse of EU funds.

The request, which will be considered by judges, comes after a seven-year investigation into allegations that the party, then called the Front National, had used money destined for EU parliamentary assistants to pay staff who were instead working for the party between 2004 and 2016.

EU lawmakers are allocated funds to cover expenses, including their assistants, but are not meant to use them for party expenses.

The case involves 11 MEPs, including Le Pen, and her 95-year-old father, the former party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, as well as 13 parliamentary assistants.

Le Pen is a member of the French parliament, where her far-right party is the biggest single opposition party. She is preparing to run for president for the fourth time in 2027, when Emmanuel Macron will not be eligible to run again.

The National Rally denied wrongdoing. “We dispute this position which seems to be an erroneous understanding of the work of opposition lawmakers and their assistants, which is above all a political one,” the party told Reuters in a statement.

Le Pen has previously denied wrongdoing.

At trial, Le Pen could face a potential 10-year jail sentence, a €1m (£870,000) fine, and, because she is an elected official, ineligibility to hold public office for 10 years, the prosecutor’s office said.