‘Every single political group, every single national delegation, has violated the same rule that Ms. Le Pen did – the employment of staff to work on non-EP related affairs.’ That was the reaction of Connor Allen, a former Parliamentary Assistant in the European Parliament, following Marine Le Pen’s disqualification from the French presidential race. Allen is no fringe partisan. He’s worked for multiple MEPs across the aisle and was recently named in Politico’s ‘Power 40 – Brussels Class of 2023.’ His comment lifts the lid on something Brussels insiders have always known: that the rule Le Pen has been convicted under isn’t just bureaucratic – it’s universally ignored.
Let’s be clear: this isn’t a corruption scandal in the traditional sense. Le Pen hasn’t been accused of enriching herself. The court found that some €474,000 (around £400,000) in EU funds paid to parliamentary assistants had been used for party-related activity in France. Not a penny was taken for personal use.
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