French far-right leader Le Pen stands trial over alleged misuse of EU funds

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00:00Longtime leader of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen is standing trial in a case that could

00:05derail her future political plans. She, along with her father Jean-Marie, are among more

00:10than 20 current and former party members accused of misappropriation of European funds between

00:162004 and 2016. Prosecutors say money destined for EU parliamentary work was instead used

00:24to pay staff who did political work for the party.

00:29It wasn't just money here and there. It was a system that was put in place and that started

00:33with Jean-Marie Le Pen and continued with Marine Le Pen to centralise the money allocated

00:39by the European Parliament. The European Parliament's money is money that belongs to the European

00:45people.

00:46Le Pen is facing charges both for her role as party leader and as an EU lawmaker who

00:52hired allegedly fictitious assistants herself. If found guilty, she and other defendants

00:58could face up to 10 years in jail, a 1 million euro fine and be barred for up to five years

01:04from public office. That last penalty would deal a huge blow to Le Pen, who's widely seen

01:10as a frontrunner in the 2027 presidential election. She argues that parliamentary assistants

01:16do not work for European Parliament, but for elected officials.

01:22We are totally innocent of the charges against us and we're going to explain that to the

01:27magistrate over many weeks.

01:31At the time of the alleged embezzlement, the national rally was facing severe financial

01:36problems. Despite denying wrongdoing, the party has already paid back 1 million euros

01:41to the European Parliament. That includes 330,000 euros that were directly linked to

01:47Le Pen's alleged misuse.

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