△ French far-right political party “National Rally” leader Élisabeth Le Pen
On July 8th, local time, the European Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had uncovered violations of EU funds by members of the National Rally and its far-right allies in the European Parliament between 2019 and 2024.
The report indicated that the funds were used for projects unrelated to parliamentary duties.
Currently, the European prosecutors have stated that they are “to avoid affecting the progress of the investigation,” and thus will not disclose more details at this time.
The National Rally has yet to respond.
In March of this year, a French court had already ruled on another case involving misappropriation of EU funds by the National Rally, finding the party’s leaders, among others, guilty of embezzlement. Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison (two of which were actual terms), and her right to run for office was revoked for five years. The case is currently under appeal. (CCTV Zhu Xuesong)