France: Marine Le Pen hits back in EU funds misuse trial

Far-right politician Marine Le Pen denies misusing European parliamentary funds in her National Rally party.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifyUS ElectionElection pollsKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzSportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersMarine Le Pen hits back in EU funds misuse trial EPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockMarine Le Pen's political ambitions risk being seriously hampered by the outcome of the party funding trialFrench politician Marine Le Pen has hit back against charges of illegal party funding by European Parliament deputies from her far-right National Rally (RN) party.

Le Pen and more than 20 other senior party figures are accused of hiring assistants who worked on party affairs rather than for the European Parliament which paid them.

She told a court in Paris on Monday that parliamentary assistants paid for by the Brussels assembly were naturally involved in politics - because that was what drew them to the job in the first place.

So, she claimed, it was a false distinction to claim that they should be working solely for the parliament.

"Assistants work for their deputies, enlarging their ideas," Le Pen said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c749g91yk8vo

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