They are two lawyers without a toga who will appear this Monday, September 30, before the microphones at the opening of the process against the parliamentary assistants of the National Front, accused of embezzlement of European Parliament funds. In the foreground, the accused Marine Le Pen, a short-lived lawyer in the early 1990s, before embarking on a political career. Behind her, as an attentive observer, a man with thinning hair, dry as a long-distance runner, who has visited courts and radical right groups for three decades. Alexandre Varaut, 58, is the architect of the defense of the National Rally (RN) and its leader, who runs the risk of being sentenced to a sentence of disqualification and up to ten years in prison. He built his strategy, formed a group of black dresses, ensured communication before the trial, but his role ends at the door of the Paris Criminal Court room.
Because, since June 9, the man is also a European deputy and, as such, is prevented from testifying in court. Was placement in an eligible position on Jordan Bardella’s roster used to indirectly remunerate the attorney for services provided to the party? Not at all, argues Master Varaut, who opposes his desire to “moving from particular interest to general interest, to [son] country “. Marine Le Pen, who likes to surround herself with lawyers, would be delighted with his services since she asked him for help in 2015 to manage the file of parliamentary assistants. They had not spoken for twenty years, during which time Varaut was one of the few, in court, who took the responsibility of shaking the hand of Jean-Marie Le Pen’s daughter. His friends praise his courtesy, his culture and his even humor. “You approach the files first like
lawyer, but understands that a case also has a media and political aspect,” greets Philippe Olivier, MEP and special advisor to Marine Le Pen.
The man, after thirty years at the bar, had been mulling over the idea of more direct involvement for some time. He had made a place for himself among the “Horaces”, these regular and anonymous advisors to the Pas-de-Calais deputy, and had thought about running in the 2022 legislative elections, but the activists in Vaucluse, where he was going to be parachuted in, did not I wanted it. This lifelong Parisian then gave up moving to Arles, in Bouches-du-Rhône, where he was offered a favorable constituency. Therefore, his joining the party will wait two more years.
You have 67.69% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
