A Paris court has ruled that National Front founder, Jean-Marie Le Pen will not be called to give tesitmony in a case regarding the payment of European parliamentary assistants working for the National Rally, due to his deteriorating health.
The Paris judicial court said on Wednesday that the deteriorating state of health of 96-year-old Jean-Marie Le Pen is "incompatible" with his presence at a trial involving parliamentary assistants working for the National Rally (RN) at the EU parliament.
All parties agreed that the co-founder of the far-right National Front – the pre-cursor of the rebranded National Rally – was "unfit" to attend the trial, but the decision will be formalised when the hearing opens on 30 September.
Experts appointed by the court examined Le Pen at his home on 19 June and could only note "a profound deterioration" in his physical and mental state.
The experts observed that the former presidential candidate had "deteriorated physically and above all psychologically", making it "incompatible" for him to appear in court.
Jean-Marie Le Pen is unable to "concentrate for more than a few minutes", the medical experts noted.
"He has no awareness of the purpose, meaning or significance of this hearing", the experts insisted, adding that the National Front founder was suffering from "heart failure" which prevented him from leaving his home.
EU funds allegedly paid RN salaries
The trial primarily targets his daughter Marine, who has been summoned along with 26 other people, and the RN – which has been summoned as a legal entity – to shed light on suspected misappropriation of European funds between 2004 and 2016.
The defendants are being prosecuted for having set up a system during this period whereby the European Union paid MEPs' assistants who actually worked directly for the party.
Marine Le Pen – who has always denied these allegations – is charged with misappropriation of public funds and complicity.
Other defendants include the mayor of Perpignan, Louis Aliot, former Reconquête member Nicolas Bay – who has just been re-elected to the European Parliament – and RN spokesman Julien Odoul.
In all, 11 people who were elected as MEPs on National Front lists, 12 others who were their parliamentary assistants and four party employees are due to be tried.
