The decision in the case against Marine Le Pen and 24 members of her party, who are accused of misusing European Parliament funds, will be made in March 2025.
This was announced by Judge Bénédicte de Pertuy, who clarified that the decision will be announced on March 31, 2025, after two months of discussions. In his closing remarks, Le Pen’s lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselé, asked the court to acquit his client or, at the very least, not impose an immediate sentence so she could run for president in 2027. Le Pen had previously stated that calls for a verdict amounted to her “political death.”
The politicians are accused of using European Parliament funds to pay parliamentary assistants who actually worked solely for the “National Rally” party. Le Pen was an MEP from 2004 to 2017 and led the party from 2011 to 2021. She is accused of organizing a “centralized system” for money laundering within the European Parliament, resulting in damages exceeding 4.5 million euros.
The prosecution has called for a ban on all defendants engaging in political activity if the verdict is enforced immediately. In Le Pen’s case, this ban could last five years, preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election.
The prosecutors have also requested a five-year prison sentence for Le Pen, two of which would be mandatory, with the possibility of replacing it with a lighter penalty, such as house arrest with an electronic bracelet. In addition, the prosecution has called for a fine of 300,000 euros for Le Pen and 2 million euros for the “National Rally” party.
