PARIS (AP) – The Paris prosecutor’s office is investigating a report by the European Union’s fraud agency accusing French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and other members of her nationalist party of misusing public funds while in the European Parliament.
The report was revealed by the French investigative news site Mediapart just days before Le Pen faced incumbent Emmanuel Macron in Sunday’s run-off election, which could determine Europe’s future direction. The Le Pen National Rally seeks to reduce EU powers.
Le Pen denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the report as a “dishonest game by the European Union a few days before the second round” in the election. Speaking on Monday about the suspension of the campaign in Normandy, she said: “I’m well used to it and I don’t think the French will fall for it at all.
A similar investigation into EU fraud was uncovered ahead of the 2017 French presidential election, which Le Pen lost to Macron. Le Pen was charged in advance by French investigators in this case, which is still ongoing.
Macron, a pro-European centrist, led Le Pen in opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s vote, although the race is more intense than when they faced off in 2017.
The EU’s fraud agency, OLAF, presented its latest report last month to the Paris prosecutor’s office, which is “under analysis”, the prosecutor’s office said on Monday. No formal investigation has been launched yet and no further details have been released.
According to Mediapart, the OLAF report found that Le Pen, her favorite father and party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, and other party members who had served in the European Parliament had used € 617,000 in public money for “fictitious” reasons. in particular in favor of companies close to the party. The fraud service is reportedly seeking reimbursement and potential allegations of fraud and embezzlement.
OLAF accused members of the party of “grave breaches” and said that the “inappropriate behavior” of members of the National Rally, formerly called the National Front, “threatened the reputation of the Union’s institutions”, according to Mediapart.
OLAF did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday, a holiday in Belgium and several European countries.
This is not the first time Le Pen has been accused of embezzling European funds. Among the several legal scandals haunting her party, Le Pen was charged in 2018 based on a separate OLAF investigation accusing members of her party of using aides to the European Parliament’s payroll for the party’s political activities. Other French political parties have faced similar allegations.
Le Pen, who worked in the European Parliament from 2004 to 2017, smiled at the selfie as she met with hundreds of voters on Monday in the town of Saint-Pierre-en-Auge in Normandy. A small group of Macron supporters came up with placards urging voters to prevent the far right from ruling France.
She and Macron face a crucial debate Wednesday.
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Jeremias Gonzalez contributed from Saint-Pierre-en-Auge.
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Follow the coverage of the French elections by the AP
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