Friday

29th Mar 2024

Le Pen used 'fake' EU parliament jobs

  • Le Pen's use of her bodyguard and personal assistant in the European Parliament could be misappropriation of funds or fraud. (Photo: europarl.europa.eu)

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen allegedly used fake job contracts for two of her assistants in the European Parliament, according to a report by the EU anti-fraud body, Olaf.

A three-month contract, signed in October 2011 by Le Pen for Thierry Legier, her bodyguard, could constitute a "misappropriation of funds, or fraud and use of fraud", the European Anti-Fraud Office (Olaf) said in a report handed to French judges last year and revealed by French media on Thursday (16 February).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

It said the contract did not correspond to reality and pointed out that Legier's salary - €7,237 net per month for a part-time post - was "extremely high".

According to the report, leaked by the Mediapart news website and by Marianne, a weekly, Le Pen admitted to Olaf investigators that she had "not employed Legier during these three months".

She said the job contract had been established to "rectify earlier salaries and charges spending that has not been paid by the parliament".

Olaf also said that another person paid since December 2010 as an EU parliament assistant to Le Pen, Catherine Griset, was actually her personal assistant at the National Front's headquarters in France.

The anti-fraud office started to investigate in June 2014 on suspicions of violations of the parliament's rules and "possible use of fake jobs" by Le Pen since 2009.

It could not confirm allegations that Louis Aliot, Le Pen's partner and now an MEP, and Florian Philippot, also an MEP and the FN's deputy leader, were unduly paid as assistants to Le Pen before their election in 2014.

But it said the cost to the parliament of Legier and Griset's alleged fake contracts amounted to €336,146.

The parliament was due to start recovering the money this month, to be taken from Le Pen's salary as an MEP.

Le Pen's laywer said that Olaf's accusations were "balderdash".

Last month Le Pen said she would not repay the parliament and said that the investigation was "persecution, a unilateral decision taken by political opponents".

French judges opened a case in December over embezzlement, organised fraud, forgery, and undeclared work against the FN, following a preliminary investigation that was opened in March 2015 at the request of European Parliament president Martin Schulz.

The publication of Olaf's report comes as Le Pen benefits from similar accusations against centre-right presidential candidate Francois Fillon, who employed his wife and children as parliamentary assistants in France.

In the most recent poll ahead of April's first round of the presidential election, Le Pen leads with 26 percent, while Fillon is down 13 percent to 18.5 percent. Fillon is now third in the race behind the liberal-left candidate Emmanuel Macron, with 23 percent.

Until now, no poll has said Le Pen would win the election in the second round, but with Fillon in difficulty the possibility is more likely.

French police raid Le Pen's party office

Officers raid the National Front headquarters near Paris over allegations that leader Marine Le Pen used fake EU parliament contracts to pay her personal staff.

Le Pen wants to 'do away' with EU

The far-right presidential candidate said that she would create a "Europe of free nations", while taking France out of Nato command and "tie up" Russia to Europe.

Judges refuse to 'let go' of Le Pen's fake jobs case

As MEPs start to examine a request to lift Marine Le Pen's parliamentary immunity on Monday, judges in Paris are trying to tighten the judiciary's noose around the French far-right leader.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us