A French court on Monday will deliver its verdict on far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s role in an alleged fake jobs scam at the EU parliament, reports RFI.
A guilty verdict could bar her from standing for president in 2027, following a ruling by France's top court that removing an elected official from office before they have exhausted the appeals process is not unconstitutional.
Le Pen and her 24 co-defendants are accused of embezzling more than €3 million in European Parliament funds by hiring fake parliamentary assistants to work on party business rather than EU affairs.
The alleged scam took place from 2004 to 2016.
Prosecutors have called on the three-judge panel to issue a prison sentence of five years and a ban from holding public office. The ban would come into force even if Le Pen appeals.
Le Pen has run for president three times, but the 2027 election is being viewed as her strongest chance to date after her National Rally (RN) emerged as the largest single party in last summer’s snap legislative elections.
Le Pen vehemently denies the charges, labelling them as politically motivated attempts to undermine her and her party's influence.