On Wednesday, November 27, during the twenty-sixth and final day of the trial against the advisors of the National Front (FN), the court was packed: half of the room was made up of journalists, the other half of people close to the Group. Nacional, who laughed at some clever words from Marine Le Pen’s lawyer.
The eleventh chamber of the Paris court will hand down a ruling on March 31, 2025, a ruling that will be closely examined, with the central issue being the question of M’s ineligibility.me LePen. However, Mᵉ Rodolphe Bosselut, the last defense lawyer, had time to raise some points that, if followed by the court, would not impose this automatic ineligibility on the three-time presidential candidate.
Very active throughout the hearing, M.my Bosselut had specialized in long questions so closed that the accused could only answer yes or no; Fortunately, they always contained a clue to the correct answer, to avoid any danger. Marine Le Pen’s lawyer testified on Wednesday for three long hours with the only support of a bottle of water, citing four times the world which he reads conscientiously, certainly with increasing irritation.
He immediately attacked the heart of the accusation, the possible ineligibility of Marine Le Pen, against whom the prosecution demands five years in prison, three of which suspended, a fine of 300,000 euros and five years of ineligibility, with provisional execution, that is, i.e. applicable immediately, without waiting for a possible appeal.
Mᵉ Bosselut warned that he ran the risk of being ” bored ” : The question is a bit technical, but certainly decisive. In fact, Marine Le Pen is being prosecuted on two charges: as “author”, for having hired four assistants, and as “accomplice by instruction”, as party leader, for eight other assistants, “ only with nine contracts, because before January 2011 he was not responsible for the FN” – It was then his father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the movement.
Question of dates
As the author, the Pas-de-Calais deputy is being prosecuted for misappropriation of public funds by hiring four alleged parliamentary assistants, and these are precisely the dates.
Thierry Légier, the bodyguard, was twice Marine Le Pen’s assistant, from September to December 2009 and then from October to December 2011. Catherine Griset, the faithful secretary who became the president’s chief of staff, was from December from 2010 to October 2016. Guillaume L’Huillier, Jean-Marie Le Pen’s chief of staff and especially close to Bruno Gollnisch, was not hired by Marine Le Pen only from November 2009 to June 2011. Finally, Micheline Bruna, the patriarch’s secretary, was Marine Le Pen’s parliamentary assistant for only one day, on December 3, 2008. “due to increased activity” – in fact, to clean up the allocation for Marine Le Pen granted by Parliament.
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