EU anti-fraud body accuses Marine Le Pen of embezzlement
GuardianJUL 2022
France: Le Pen Embezzlement Trial Begins
Above: French Rassemblement National Member of Parliament Marine Le Pen leaves a Paris courtroom on Sept. 30, 2024. Image copyright: Alain Jocard/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Left narrative
These RN members have spent years cheating Europe's parliamentary system out of millions. After years of investigation, incriminating documents and testimony — most notably correspondence between party leaders — show that Le Pen and her colleagues deserve whatever punishments they're due.
Right narrative
Le Pen is being politically prosecuted to keep her and her increasingly popular views on immigration away from power. As with Donald Trump in America, France's left-wing establishment is using the justice system to drum up bogus charges against a woman they see as a political threat. If anyone is committing a crime, it's the government.