The European Union’s General Court decisively rejected an attempt by the family of the late Jean-Marie Le Pen to block a €303,200.99 repayment demand from the European Parliament, Euractiv reported.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, found the Parliament wholly justified in seeking recovery of funds allegedly diverted by the French politician during his 35-year tenure as a Member of the European Parliament. The court determined Le Pen had improperly used parliamentary expense allocations for personal spending, violating established budget regulations.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died in January 2025, had originally contested the recovery order in 2024, arguing it infringed upon his right to a fair trial whilst violating principles of legal certainty and legitimate expectation. His daughters, prominent leader Marine Le Pen, Yann Maréchal, and Marie-Caroline Olivier, continued the legal challenge following his death.
The court, however, dismissed the arguments comprehensively, stating unequivocally that “the procedure that led the Parliament to adopt the contested decision and issue the debit note was not contrary to the principles of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations.”
The court acknowledged the personal toll of the proceedings, particularly given Le Pen’s declining health and subsequent passing. Nevertheless, it emphasised that both Le Pen and his heirs had received “repeated opportunities” to present their defence during the Parliament’s internal administrative procedures and the subsequent investigation conducted by OLAF, the EU’s anti-fraud office.
Critically, the family failed to provide timely evidence demonstrating the contested payments complied with budgetary rules. “The right to a fair trial… was not violated,” the court concluded in its ruling. A Parliament spokesperson confirmed they “took note of the ruling,” whilst the Le Pen family’s lawyers are yet to issue a detailed public response.
This legal setback arrives amidst intensifying legal scrutiny targeting Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party as the 2027 French presidential campaign approaches. Just last week, French police executed a significant raid on the RN’s Paris headquarters.
Party President Jordan Bardella, absent in Strasbourg for a European Parliament session, denounced the operation as a “spectacular and unprecedented” act of harassment and “a serious attack on pluralism and democratic change.”
Simultaneously, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) initiated a formal investigation into the alleged misuse of €4.3 million in European Parliament funds by the now-dissolved Identity and Democracy (ID) group, of which the RN was a prominent member.
The developments compound the existing legal jeopardy surrounding Marine Le Pen herself. Her March 2025 conviction for embezzling EU funds to pay party staff resulted in a five-year ban from holding public office, a €100,000 fine, and a suspended prison sentence.
