Marine Le Pen shifted her defense strategy during the appeal trial over the embezzlement of EU Parliament funds. On September 30, 2024, at the first trial, she told the press, "We did not break any rules." On January 14, 2026, at the start of the appeal, her defense had changed. "There was a parliamentary practice that was considered by RN MPs as an authorized practice and, overnight, the European Parliament tells us: 'No, the rules you thought were correct are not the correct ones,'" insisted Rodolphe Bosselut, Le Pen's lawyer.
This shift in defense strategy can be explained, according to Franck Johannès, Le Monde journalist covering the trial, by the fact that Le Pen "is playing for her political future in the short term, and possibly for good." In the first trial, Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison, with two years suspended, and a five-year ban on running for office – meaning she is currently barred from running in the 2027 presidential election.
Juliette Prigent and Sinead McCausland (Le Monde in English)
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.
This shift in defense strategy can be explained, according to Franck Johannès, Le Monde journalist covering the trial, by the fact that Le Pen "is playing for her political future in the short term, and possibly for good." In the first trial, Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison, with two years suspended, and a five-year ban on running for office – meaning she is currently barred from running in the 2027 presidential election.
Juliette Prigent and Sinead McCausland (Le Monde in English)
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.