(30 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris – 30 September 2024
1. Tracking of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen exiting courtroom with party member Wallerand de Saint-Just
2. Wide tracking of Le Pen leaving
3. Wide of National Rally MEP and spokesperson Alexandre Varaut outside courtroom
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Alexandre Varaut, National Rally MEP and spokesperson:
"The only question that needs to be answered is whether some of the collaborators with some of the Members of the EU Parliament were allowed, or not, to work with the political party. What we say is that they had the right to do so. The prosecutor, who believes he’s in charge of defining what our work is, in spite of the separation of powers, says the opposite. The court will have to rule on it."
5. Mid of Varaut speaking to reporters
6. SOUNDBITE (French) Alexandre Varaut, National Rally MEP and spokesperson:
"One day, the European parliament’s socialist president (Martin Schulz), along with the French socialist Justice minister, Mrs Taubira, came to an agreement to try and derail the National Rally’s unstoppable rise. They failed to stop the National Rally from growing stronger – it is far higher now than when they launched this investigation. They also failed with this trial because we’re going to come out cleared of all charges."
7. Wide of Varaut with reporters and cameras
8. Mid of National Rally member and former member of the European Parliament Bruno Gollnisch walking past reporters
9. SOUNDBITE (French) Bruno Gollnisch, National Rally member, former member of the European Parliament:
"There are no accusations related to fictitious jobs. There were no fictitious jobs. All of our (European MP) assistants worked. They worked for us and for our political party. That’s a given. Of course. It was totally legal. No law prohibited it and that’s the way the European Parliament worked."
10. Tracking of Gollnisch leaving after speaking with reporters
11. Mid of European Parliament lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve inside courthouse
12. Mid of Maisonneuve talking to reporters
13. SOUNDBITE (French) Patrick Maisonneuve, lawyer for the European Parliament:
"Was it a system or not? The prosecutors and the judges had good reasons – there are going to be debates, testimonies, there are a certain number of documents, emails that, to me, tend to show there was a system designed to tap into European Parliament funds, outside of the strict framework defining a European assistant’s job."
14. Various of journalists and police outside courtroom
15. Wide exterior of courthouse
STORYLINE:
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen denied violating any rules as she and her National Rally party and two dozen others went on trial on Monday, accused of embezzling European Parliament funds, in a case that has the potential to derail her political ambitions.
The nine-week trial will be closely watched by Le Pen’s political rivals as she is a strong contender in the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron when the next presidential election takes place in 2027.
The National Rally and 27 of its top officials are accused of having used money destined for EU parliamentary aides to pay staff who instead did political work for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. The National Rally was called National Front at the time.
If found guilty, Le Pen and her co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to 1 million euros ($1.1 million) each.
Varaut accused "socialist" officials of coming to an agreeement "to try and derail the National Rally’s unstoppable rise."
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