(Bloomberg) — Marine Le Pen denied accusations she embezzled about €474,000 ($516,920) in European Union funds during a criminal trial where she and her National Rally party are alleged to have diverted millions to build a platform in France.
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The far-right leader testified at the Paris trial Monday and Tuesday, refuting allegations that she misappropriated nearly half a million euros of an EU budget allocation meant to pay the salaries of her parliamentary aides when she was a member of the European Parliament.
“I feel in no way as if I carried out any wrongdoing,” Le Pen said in court.
The trial comes as Le Pen’s influence on French politics has never been greater with her able to wield a de-facto veto over policies set by Prime Minister Michel Barnier amid a deeply divided National Assembly. For Le Pen, the trial threatens to derail her party’s plans to build credibility and convince French voters it will be ready to govern by the next presidential elections slated for 2027.
“I am facing prosecution here, with all that this can entail psychologically, emotionally and politically,” she said.
Le Pen’s testimony is due to continue on Wednesday, with a ruling expected in several months. She risks jail time and a fine, as well as a ban of as much as 10 years from running for public office.
The case turns, in part, on whether Le Pen’s main assistant spent enough time in Brussels, as required by her contract. Catherine Griset, the aide, said in Tuesday testifying that she wasn’t a full-time resident in Brussels.
“Maybe I didn’t fully understand that I had to be in Brussels all the time, but I did my job,” she told the court, denying any wrongdoing. “I don’t feel like a criminal.”
Investigators claim that Griset spent most of her time near Paris and hardly any in Brussels. According to their findings, she badged into the European Parliament for a total of about 12 hours only over a period of about a year between 2014 and 2015.
Griset said that she spent far more time at the Brussels seat of the European institution but that doesn’t show because she didn’t need to badge in when arriving with her boss, who could enter through a special access.
The trial will look at the alleged diversion of millions of euros in EU funds by various other National Rally members. The prosecution alleges the money was used to pay staff of the Front National — the party’s former name — who focused essentially on domestic politics, rather than EU matters.
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