The General Court of the European Union on Wednesday threw out an appeal by Jean-Marie Le Pen’s heirs and upheld a European Parliament decision to recover over €300,000 in expenses that were misused by the late far-right French politician.
“The General Court dismisses the action brought by Mr Le Pen and his heirs,” the court said in a statement. “The procedure which led the Parliament to adopt the recovery decision and to issue the debit note is not contrary to the principles of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations.”
The case followed a European Parliament investigation that found Le Pen — who died in January at the age of 96 — had improperly used parliamentary allowances to cover personal expenses when they were intended for official work.
Le Pen, founder of the far-right National Front, now National Rally, contested the repayment order in 2024, arguing it violated legal certainty and his right to a fair trial. After his death in January 2025, his daughters — Marine Le Pen, Yann Maréchal and Marie-Caroline Olivier — continued the case on his behalf.
But on Wednesday, the EU court rejected all arguments, finding that Parliament had followed due process throughout.
The judges noted that the European Parliament had informed Le Pen in January 2024 “of the irregularities of which he was accused and had invited him to submit any observations within two months.” The final recovery decision, issued by the Parliament’s Secretary-General Alessandro Chiocchetti, included a detailed account of the charges, as well as written responses submitted by his daughter Maréchal in March 2024.
The court also dismissed the claim that there was no fair trial, stating that the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) had informed Le Pen of the allegations and granted him the opportunity to comment during both the investigation and the subsequent administrative procedure.
In 2023, Marine Le Pen paid back €330,000 to the European Parliament, while insisting that the payment should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing.
Earlier this year, a French court found Marine Le Pen guilty of similar charges of embezzling EU funds by paying personal staff, including a personal assistant and bodyguard, with money intended for parliamentary work. Le Pen was hit with an immediate five-year ban on running for office.
Le Pen has appealed the verdict and continues to profess her innocence.
Victor Goury-Laffont contributed to this report.
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