French prosecutors said Tuesday they will seek to have convictions upheld and certain defendants disqualified from office in the appeal trial of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and members of her party over alleged fraud.
“We are going to ask you to largely uphold the criminal liability established in the initial trial, and ineligibility sentences will of course be sought,” a prosecutor told a Paris court.
The demand came during the retrial of Le Pen, her National Rally party and 11 others over a fake jobs scam at the European Parliament that the far-right leader denies.
A lower court last year sentenced Le Pen, a three-time presidential candidate, to four years in jail, including two suspended, and banned her from running for office for five years in the case, throwing her 2027 presidential run into jeopardy.
It also fined her 100,000 euros ($116,000).
The first trial found Le Pen, along with 24 former European Parliament lawmakers, assistants and accountants as well as the party itself, guilty of operating a “system” from 2004 to 2016 using European Parliament funds to employ RN staff in France. Not all of those convicted have appealed.
Le Pen has, during the appeal trial from mid-January, denied that her party had any “system” to embezzle European Parliament funds and said her party acted in “complete good faith”.
The appeal trial wraps up this month, and a verdict is expected this summer.
If the court upholds the first ruling, Le Pen will be prevented from running in the 2027 election, widely seen as her best chance to win the country’s top job after several failed attempts.
She made it to the second round in the 2017 and 2022 presidential polls, before losing to Emmanuel Macron. But he cannot run again next year after two consecutive terms in office.
Le Pen now again risks the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a one-million-euro ($1.16 million) fine if the appeal fails.
She is hoping to be acquitted — or at least for a shorter election ban and no time under house arrest.
