Prosecutors on Wednesday asked that far-right French lawmaker Marine Le Pen be found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to five years in prison, three of which would be suspended — a judgment that would automatically ban her from running for president of the country unless the judge on the case explicitly rules otherwise.
Le Pen said during the trial last week that she was planning to run for the French presidency for a fourth time, and that “millions of French people would be deprived of their presidential candidate” if she is barred from doing so.
The defense will now be given the opportunity to make its case before the judge, who will announce a verdict date before Nov. 27. The verdict itself is expected early next year.
If found guilty, Le Pen could appeal the verdict. That could mean the suspension of any penalties, but prosecutors asked for the sentences of all defendants to be applied immediately. The question would become whether a new trial is held before or after 2027, when the next presidential election is scheduled to take place.
Le Pen, her National Rally party, and 24 other individuals — including current and former French lawmakers and MEPs — are accused of illicitly using European Parliament funds to pay parliamentary assistants for work on party business rather than on EU affairs from 2004 to 2016.
On Tuesday, the Parliament urged that all accused be found guilty. It estimated the financial damages to taxpayers at €4.5 million, and said it would seek an additional €300,000 in compensation.
Le Pen and her co-defendants have all denied the charges, but appeared to struggle to defend themselves during the trial. Evidence put forward in court showed that many individuals under contract as legislative assistants had rarely, if ever, been to the Parliament, and in some cases had had limited to no contact with the MEPs they purportedly assisted.
The far-right leader, drawing a page from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s playbook, portrayed the trial as politically motivated and accused the lead judge of “biased” conduct.
The post Prosecutors ask for sentence barring Marine Le Pen from running for president in embezzlement trial appeared first on Politico.
