Le Pen trial shines light on ‘black box' of MEP expenditure

Marine Le Pen is best known as the face of the French far right and a three-time presidential hopeful with her sights still squarely set on a shot at France's top job. But it was her work as a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2017 which was in the spotlight this week at the opening of a landmark trial in Paris.

French prosecutors have accused Le Pen of presiding over an unlawful "system" under which public money destined for EU parliamentary work was diverted to pay staffers focused on national party business. In total, more than 20 people linked to the staunchly anti-immigration, euroskeptic National Rally party are standing trial.

If found guilty, Le Pen could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to €1 million ($1.1 million). She could also face a yearslong order of ineligibility barring her from public office, which could block her planned path to the Elysee presidential palace in 2027.

Yet the 56-year-old appeared unfazed on her way into court on Monday. "I'm here to lay out our arguments. I'm very serene," she told reporters. "Parliamentary freedom is at stake here. We broke no rules," she added.

Misuse of EU funds 'not a unique case'

The Paris Prosecutor's Office has alleged that Le Pen was one of a number of members of the National Rally, formerly known as the National Front, who participated in a fake jobs scheme from 2004 to 2016. Her father, National Front founding member Jean-Marie Le Pen, is another of the accused.

Investigators concluded that lower-level party employees, such as bodyguards, were given higher-tier titles, like EU parliamentary assistant, so that they could be paid with European money and not from the party's bank account.

While Le Pen's case is generating headlines, it's not the only instance of alleged misuse of public funds in the European Parliament.

Before the United Kingdom left the EU in 2020, several parliamentarians from the euroskeptic UKIP party — once under the leadership of Nigel Farage — faced similar accusations and were forced to pay back hundreds of thousands of euros.

In 2023, Dutch investigative outlet Follow the Money and German newspaper Die Welt reported that 108 members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, had been forced to pay back €2 million in allegedly misused funds from 2019-2022.

MEP expenditures are a 'black box,' campaigner charges

Those cases, according to Nick Aiossa from the EU branch of advocacy group Transparency International, could involve anything from "sloppy accounting" to "intentional fraud."

The issue is that getting EU parliamentary assistants to help with a lawmaker's national political work is not the only way to embezzle funds for the benefit of an individual MEP or their party. "This isn't a unique problem," he said.

"Le Pen is accused of misusing a particular allowance, but there's other allowances that are a complete black box of financial management," Aiossa stressed. "For the general expenditure allowance, which cumulatively across all 705 MEPs amounts to about €40 million of taxpayers' money, there's not one single receipt required."

The monthly payment of close to €5,000 is granted to cover expenses in one's home constituency directly linked to an MEP's activities, such as renting and maintaining an office in the member state where they were elected. There are rules on how this money should be spent, but receipts for expenses are not required.

EU Parliament says transparency is a top priority

Across the board, there are a number of rules and measures that MEPs and their staff must follow designed to prevent embezzlement or misuse of funds, the European Parliament press service stressed to DW when asked about the current allegations against National Rally.

"The European Parliament sets great store on the integrity, transparency and accountability of the political activities of its members," a spokesperson said, also pointing to a further tightening of rules last year in the wake of Qatargate.

That scandal, in which prominent members of the legislature were accused of taking money, sometimes handed over as cash in suitcases, from several non-EU states to wield influence in their favor, caused major reputational damage to the institution.

What's at stake for Le Pen?

The trial of Le Pen and other figures linked to her party show that potential rule breakers can be flagged. If found guilty, she and her co-defendants could face fines, jail time or bans on running for office.

Marta Lorimer, a researcher who tracks French far-right politics from the London School of Economics, said any declaration of ineligibility for political office would likely result in major protests from National Rally supporters.

But the outcome remains entirely unclear, with the trial set to last some two months. Before then, Lorimer thinks it's unlikely to deal Le Pen a major blow.

"Her core electorate probably doesn't really care," Lorimer told DW. Given the National Rally's euroskeptic and nationalist credentials, she said party backers are unlikely to be outraged by the alleged use of European funds to further its "national cause."

"There's a way that Le Pen can spin this in her favor: By suggesting that this is a political trial," Lorimer explained. "That seems to be the line of defense she's going for and it seems to be a fairly intelligent one."

Edited by: Andreas Illmer