There was a vigorous interview on Tuesday morning on a prominent French radio station. The guest was Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a senior MP in Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, and the last question put to him concerned his leader’s impending trial on charges of financial impropriety. Tanguy had on two occasions to remind the presenter to stick to the conditional tense when talking about the charges; his interlocutor made it sound as if Le Pen was guilty until proven innocent.
She will be joined the dock in Paris next week by 26 other members of the National Rally, including Louis Aliot, the mayor of Perpignan. They are accused of the misappropriation of €7 million (£6 million) of EU funds between 2004 and 2016; the prosecution claims that the defendants established a system in which the EU paid MEPs’ assistants who in fact worked directly for the National Rally. If convicted Le Pen could be imprisoned, fined or barred from standing for office.
If Le Pen were found guilty and barred from standing for election, she would be succeeded by her no.
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