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All but one of the defendants, an accountant, were found guilty and handed fines, suspended prison sentences — all of which would be served under house arrest —and ineligibility bans of various lengths.
What evidence did prosecutors have … and how did the defendants respond?
Prosecutors put forward several pieces of particularly damning evidence during hundreds of hours of court proceedings.
They shared a text message that one assistant sent to Le Pen asking if he could be introduced to the MEP he was supposed to be working for — months after being hired. They also revealed that one purported assistant exchanged only a single text message with his supposed employer over the course of an eight-month contract.
In its ruling, the court stressed that its conclusion did not rely solely on the absence of proof of work. The judges also noted that some of the assistants’ tasks were incompatible with a full-time parliamentary assistant role — such as working as the party president’s personal aide or bodyguard. One of the defendants, Thierry Légier, was Le Pen’s bodyguard and her father Jean-Marie’s before that. He now appears to be party President Jordan Bardella’s bodyguard and was photographed shadowing him on Tuesday.
During the trial, the defense did not dispute the substance of the charges. Instead, it argued that the distinction between a politician’s work as a lawmaker and as a party member was artificial. Le Pen’s lawyer acknowledged on Monday their strategy was “not crowned with success.”
Why are Le Pen and her allies in arms about the verdict?
In most cases in France, defendants can have their punishment temporarily lifted by appealing a verdict, at which point they return to being presumed innocent.
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