On Wednesday, French prosecutors demanded right-wing leader Marine Le Pen receive a jail sentence and be banned from public office for five years over charges she embezzled European Parliament funds.
What is striking is that wherever the right wins elections or starts to take the lead in some ‘democratic countries,’ the leader gets hit with campaign finance violations. What a coincidence.
They’re Trying to Ban 25 People From Office
The prosecution made the request in a Paris court. Le Pen and other defendants from her National Rally party are on trial for creating fake jobs at the EU parliament. She denies the charges.
The National Rally party and 25 of its officials, including Le Pen, are accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to instead pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. The National Rally was called the National Front at the time.
The nine-week trial is scheduled to finish Nov. 27, with a verdict at a later date. Defense lawyers are to speak in the next couple of weeks.
The ban would exclude the 56-year-old from running in France’s 2027 presidential election if granted by the court.
The prosecution demanded the ban be effective immediately, even if the defense team appeals. They want her imprisoned for two years.
She is leading in all the polls.
In France, you are guilty until proven innocent.
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