French National Rally MEPs face trial over alleged misuse of EU parliamentary funds for party staff jobs.
Background
The factual situation is relatively straightforward and has been identified for some time. In 2014, the National Front (today National Rally), led by Marine Le Pen, sent 26 deputies to the European Parliament.
The Scheme
During a meeting of newly elected party members, a proposal was made—former members claim it was not rejected—to allocate their employment assistant funds to assistants for the party itself, not for the MEPs. Each MEP was to retain only one assistant. Some reported never seeing most of their assistants, who worked for the National Rally headquarters using funds from the European Parliament.
Charges
Twenty-six individuals are accused of creating fictitious jobs and misappropriating public funds (totaling approximately 4 million euros).
