The risk of automatic ineligibility for Marine Le Pen

This time Marine Le Pen was really scared. The three-time candidate for the presidential elections discovered, on Wednesday, November 7 – at the same time as her lawyers – that, if she were convicted in the trial of the parliamentary assistants of the National Front (FN) in the European Parliament, they would necessarily cease to be eligible for five years, unless there is a specially motivated court decision. And he is well aware that a conviction, although the process will be closed on Tuesday, November 12, has become very likely throughout the hearing. The sentencing will take place in early 2025.

“This automation, which I consider questionable, could have very serious consequences, The deputy of the National Group (RN, ex-FN) of Pas de Calais is concerned. Not just for me, but for 13 million voters. » In fact, the candidate had obtained, in the 2022 presidential elections, 41.45% of the votes cast, that is, 13,288,686 votes. Shock among their lawyers, who were only preparing to fight against an extension of prevention, that is, the period in which the embezzlement of public funds occurred. Jean-Marie Le Pen, then president of the National Front, has been legally responsible for these embezzlements since 2004; Marine Le Pen, who then assumed the presidency of the party, was from 2011 to 2016; The case of his 96-year-old father should theoretically be examined later, but given his state of health, it probably will not be. never.

The problem therefore mainly concerns Marine Le Pen. However, prosecutors Nicolas Barret and Louise Neyton noted, in the early days of the hearing, that the parliamentary assistant contracts were actually only closed when the European Parliament had regularized the funds, which took some time. Louise Neyton presented a table on Wednesday summarizing the official closing date of the contract. “The term is sometimes extended up to three years, without any positive act on the part of the accused”Rodolphe Bosselut, Marine Le Pen’s lawyer, was outraged, who had not thought about it and who believes, like all his colleagues, that the unforeseen extension of prevention seriously violates the rights of the defense.

wind of revolt

Above all, it has the consequence, as has been pointed out The chained duck of October 23, to subject the accused to the law of September 15, 2017 “for confidence in political life,” which imposes mandatory ineligibility penalties in the event of conviction. Marine Le Pen immediately declared that she would not answer questions beyond 2016, the deadline by which she was referred to court.

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