PARIS — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen confronted potentially career-altering allegations during a high-stakes appeals trial this week, where she admitted to procedural errors while vehemently denying systematic fraud in the European Parliament funds case that threatens her 2027 presidential aspirations.
The 57-year-old political figure is challenging a March 2025 conviction that found her guilty of misappropriating EU legislative funds between 2004 and 2016. The original ruling imposed a five-year ban from elected office, two years of electronic monitoring house arrest, and an additional two-year suspended sentence for violating the 27-nation bloc’s financial regulations.
Before a three-judge appellate panel, Le Pen acknowledged that some parliamentary aides compensated through EU channels had occasionally performed work for her National Front party (now renamed National Rally). “The mistake lies here: there were certainly some aides who must have worked either marginally, more substantially, or entirely for the benefit of the party,” she testified, maintaining this represented isolated incidents rather than organized misconduct.
The Paris court’s initial determination described an elaborate “fraudulent system” that allegedly diverted €2.9 million ($3.4 million) in EU funds, characterizing the scheme as “a democratic bypass” that created unfair competitive advantages. Prosecutors argue Le Pen personally authorized hiring contracts while aware of their improper nature.
During intense judicial questioning, Le Pen remained composed while rejecting the existence of any coordinated scheme to fund party operations with European money. “I wouldn’t say we did everything perfectly. Some criticism can be made about us,” she conceded, while insisting her party “acted in complete good faith.”
The five-week appellate proceedings, which commenced last week, could dramatically reshape France’s political landscape. The court’s decision, expected before summer, will determine whether Le Pen can pursue the presidency or must transfer her political ambitions to protégé Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old she has designated as potential successor.
Judge Michèle Agi challenged Le Pen’s claims of ignorance regarding contractual obligations, noting her dual roles as European Parliament member and party president made her directly responsible for approvals. “You are a lawyer, you know the law — inevitably, a signature, a contract are notions that have a meaning for you,” Agi asserted.
Le Pen countered that European Parliament authorities failed to provide adequate guidance about hiring violations, while defending unusual arrangements including her personal bodyguard’s parliamentary aide contract as responding to “exceptional” security needs.