French hard-right leader Marine Le Pen faces fraud probe for 'illegal financing' days after her National Rally - Daily Mail

• **This is a breaking news story, more to follow** 

By Peter Allen

Published: 03:31 EDT, 9 July 2024 | Updated: 03:46 EDT, 9 July 2024

French criminal prosecutors today opened an investigation into ‘illegal financing’ by Marine Le Pen and her far-Right National Rally party.

It followed them being beaten into third place in parliamentary elections held over the weekend.

Judicial sources in Paris on Tuesday confirmed that the new criminal enquiry related to Ms Le Pen’s attempt to become President of France in 2022.

‘A judicial investigation was opened after a report to the courts from the National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing,’ said one.

The enquiry is believed to be related to the RN (for Rassemblement National – French for National Rally) allegedly stealing taxpayer-generated funds from the European Parliament.

Ms Le Pen is already facing up to 10 years in prison and a ban on standing for elected office if she is found guilty following an embezzlement trial which opens in Paris in September.

They say there is compelling evidence that the 55-year-old illegally accessed some €620,000 (£513,000) on behalf of her party.

Ms Le Pen will appear in the dock with 12 other members of the RN, which was previously called the National Front.

On hearing about the trial last September, Ms Le Pen accused the judiciary of acting in a manner that was ‘above all political’.

She added: ‘We will present our arguments before the court on their merits.’ All those implicated deny any wrongdoing.

Ms Le Pen’s own father, Jean-Marine Le Pen, the 95-year-old founder of the FN, was also on the defendant sheet, but last week it was ruled that he was ‘unfit to stand trial,’ because of his age.

Embezzlement is a crime punishable in France by ‘up to 10 years in prison’, and penalties also available to judges include fines equivalent to around £1million.

In the Le Pen case, prosecutors are seeking ‘the additional penalty of deprivation of the right to be elected, for a maximum period of five years,’ said a source close to the case.

Ms Le Pen is currently an MP, so if she were to be convicted following trial, she would be ruled out of the 2027 presidential election, despite styling herself as a future president.

The investigation into RN fraud began in March 2015, when the European Parliament announced that it had referred possible irregularities to the EU anti-fraud office.

It mainly concerned salaries paid to parliamentary assistants, and even to Ms Le Pen’s bodyguard.

Ms Le Pen is accused of personally diverting some £114,00 (€137,000) of EU funds taken illegally during her time as an MEP, between 2004 and 2017, into party coffers.

This effectively means that the party was using EU money for its own business in Paris, rather than for work in Brussels.

Ms Le Pen was runner up to Emmanuel Macron in the race to become president of France in 2022, after a similar result in 2017.

Party founder Jean-Marie Le Pen in turn came second to Jacques Chirac in the presidential election of 2002.

Mr Le Pen has already been convicted in a criminal court, notably for spreading racial hatred, for Holocaust denial, and for other anti-Semitic crimes.

Before Sunday night, the RN was confidently predicting that it would win a majority in the National Assembly in Paris, and go on to form the next government.

Ms Le Pen said she was waiting to become president in 2027, while her protégé, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, would become prime minister.

But the election was won by the New Popular Front – an alliance of Leftist and centrist parties created to block the RN – with Mr Macron’s Rennaissance / Together alliance coming second.

No party got an overall majority, meaning a hung parliament and political deadlock.

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Ukraine Russia war live: missile attack kills 37 and hits Kyiv children's hospital - The Independent

Zelensky says China trying to undermine Ukraine peace summit

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Russia has been accused of a war crime after a major children’s hospital in Kyiv was hit with a missile amid a large-scale attack on Ukraine that left at least 37 people dead.

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said “war crimes” must be condemned by the “entire international community” following the strike on a hospital that left two people killed and 16 others injured, seven of whom were children.

The Okhmatdyt hospital was hit amid a Russian barrage that targeted five Ukrainian cities and killed at least 37 people while injuring more than 170 others.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said his nation would take revenge for the strikes, which his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, described as “genocide”.

“They beat the cities, where there were many people. They hit the children’s hospital. There are children. It is a terror that the world must see and respond to. This is genocide,” he said.

Russia denied aiming at any civilian facilities and claimed without offering evidence that pictures from Kyiv indicated the damage was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile.

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Ukrainian Elina Svitolina breaks down in tears at Wimbledon over missile strikes on Kyiv

Many more were left injured on Monday, officials said, with one missile striking a large children’s hospital in the capital Kyiv.

Svitolina played with a black ribbon on her white top throughout the match on No.2 Court, with the 21st seed triumphing over Xinyu Wang 6-2, 6-1 after a fine performance.

And as emergency crews search the rubble for casualties back in Ukraine after the latest Russian barrage, Svitolina opened up on court about the difficulty in playing under the circumstances.

”For sure it was a good performance from my side,” Svitolina said, acknowledging her team courtside, including her partner and fellow player Gael Monfils. “It’s a very difficult day today for Ukrainian people.”

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 04:17

1720494576

At least 41 killed in Russia’s attack on children’s hospital in Kyiv

At least 41 civilians have been killed as Russia blasted the main children’s hospital in Kyiv with a missile in broad daylight yesterday, marking its deadliest wave of air strikes for months.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 100 buildings were damaged in the wave of attacks, including the children’s hospital and a maternity centre in Kyiv, children’s nurseries and a business centre and homes.

“The Russian terrorists must answer for this,” he wrote. “Being concerned does not stop terror. Condolences are not a weapon.”

Damage was reported in the central cities of Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro and two eastern cities, Ukraine’s interior ministry said.

Ukraine’s air defences shot down 30 of 38 missiles, the air force said.

An online video showed a missile falling towards the children’s hospital followed by a large explosion. The location of the video was verified from visible landmarks. The Russian forces likely used the Kh-101 cruise missile, said the Security Service of Ukraine, identifying the projectile.

Kyiv’s military authorities said 27 people had died in the capital, including three children, and 82 were wounded in the main missile volley and a strike that came two hours later.

Parents holding babies walked in the street outside the hospital, dazed and sobbing after the rare daylight aerial attack. Windows had been smashed and panels ripped off, and hundreds of Kyiv residents were helping to clear debris.

“It was scary. I couldn’t breathe, I was trying to cover (my baby). I was trying to cover him with this cloth so that he could breathe,” Svitlana Kravchenko, 33, said.

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 04:09

1720494000

The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine

The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine

Winged explosives weighing up to 1,500 kilograms – and nicknamed the ‘building destroyer’ – have had a devastating impact wherever they have been used, writes Tom Watling. Kyiv is battling them as best it can but needs Western allies to step up and provide more weapons, air defences and ammunition

Alexander Butler9 July 2024 04:00

1720493618

Russia displaying callous audacity, says Amnesty after Ohmatdyt strike

Russia is seeking deflection from responsibility for killing civilians in Ukraine, the Amnesty International said after a Russian missile tore through Ohmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, sending hundreds of patients out on the streets.

“The destruction of hospitals, as well as residential buildings and essential infrastructure are abhorrent, and any acts that target or disregard civilians must be unequivocally condemned. The evidence now widely available and some of it verified by Amnesty International experts, including videos of the strike that destroyed the Ohmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, consistently suggests that the hospital was hit by an inbound Russian cruise missile,” said Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

She added: “Russian attempts to put the blame on Ukrainian air defence display a callous audacity, which seeks to deflect from Russia’s responsibility for killing civilians and destroying medical facilities.”

“The chilling images we have seen from the sites of two rounds of attacks in Kyiv today are a reminder of the cruelty of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The number of civilians killed across the country is growing all the time, including in other missile strikes today, on Kryvyi Rih, Pokrovsk, Dnipro, Kramatorsk, and Slovyansk,” the top human rights body’s regional director said.

“These brutal acts will not stop until those committing crimes under international law know that they will be held individually responsible. This tragic day must serve as yet another urgent alarm for the entire international community, that immediate and effective action is needed for justice to be served,” she said.

Arpan Rai9 July 2024 03:53

1720490400

China and Belarus hold ‘anti-terror’ military drills on Polish border

Chinese soldiers have landed in Belarus to take part in “anti-terror” military drills on the border with Poland.

Belarus’ Ministry of Defence said that the 11-day “joint anti-terrorist exercise” would start on Monday and “improve coordination between Belarusian and Chinese units”. Chinese media said the exercises would be held in Brest, on the Polish border.

Photographs from the Baranovichi air base on Saturday, about 100 miles south-west of Minsk, showed Chinese soldiers wearing forage caps as they unloaded their equipment from a single Xian Y-20, a heavy strategic airlifter nicknamed “Chubby Girl”.

Alexander Butler9 July 2024 03:00

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Pictures: Rescuers clear rubble amid Russian hospital strike

(AP)

(AFP via Getty Images)

Alexander Butler9 July 2024 02:00

1720483200

Russia uses hypersonic missiles in an attack on Kyiv

Alexander Butler9 July 2024 01:00

1720477825

UK’s new defence minister forced to flee to bomb shelter during first trip to Ukraine

Alexander Butler8 July 2024 23:30

1720474225

Kyiv children’s hospital devastated by Russian missile attack

Kyiv children’s hospital devastated by Russian missile attack

Alexander Butler8 July 2024 22:30

1720473661

Death toll from Russia’s missile attack on Ukraine reaches at least 37, says Zelensky

The death toll from Russia’s missile strikes on Ukraine has reached at least 37 people, including three children, the Ukrainian President has confirmed.

Sending his condolences, Volodymyr Zelensky also said more than 170 others were injured in the attack on Monday.

He added that nearly 100 buildings were damaged, including a children's hospital, people’s homes, kindergartens, a maternity hospital, a college, and a business center.

Tara Cobham8 July 2024 22:21

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French left says ‘ready to govern’ as country faces hung parliament - Al Jazeera English

France’s left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon says the left is “ready to govern” after emerging as the largest political bloc in parliament, but the country faces a political deadlock as no party won a clear majority.

The New Popular Front (NFP) coalition led by Melenchon and its allies won a plurality in France’s National Assembly in the second round of the parliamentary elections on Sunday, taking 187 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, interior ministry figures show.

The result delivered a blow to President Emmanuel Macron, whose centrist Ensemble alliance managed to win 159 seats. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal offered to resign on Monday, but Macron asked him to stay on “for the time being in order to ensure the country’s stability”.

Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies surprisingly finished third with 142 seats despite a strong first-round showing. The centrist and leftist parties joined forces to deny the RN an opportunity to govern France.

But the rise of the far right has alarmed people, particularly minorities, as the RN become a major political player.

With none of the top three alliances winning an outright majority of 289 seats needed to form a government, the eurozone’s second largest economy faces a hung parliament, uncharted territory in its modern age.

This may push Macron to either try to build a fragile coalition with moderates from the left and right or invite the left-wing NFP camp to lead the government. He may also resort to a technocratic government with no political affiliation to handle day-to-day affairs.

The fragmented results are set to weaken France’s role in the European Union and farther afield and make it hard for anyone to push through a domestic agenda.

“He [Macron] is in quite a difficult situation,” Rainbow Murray, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, told Al Jazeera. “His party has fewer seats than it had before, but it’s still strong enough relative to the left for it not to be obvious for him to stand down either. So I think there are going to be some quite tense negotiations.”

“One of the key questions people are going to be debating is who is going to get to lead the next government.”

Who will be France’s next PM?

Al Jazeera’s Step Vassen, reporting from Paris, said Macron was likely to “take his time” and wait for the new political landscape to “settle in” before making major shifts.

The NFP alliance was quick to urge Macron to give it a chance to form a government. The coalition pledges to roll back many of Macron’s headline reforms, embark on a costly programme of public spending and take a tougher line against Israel because of its war on Gaza.

“According to the logic of our institutions, Emmanuel Macron should today officially invite the New Popular Front to nominate a prime minister,” said Green leader Marine Tondelier, one of a number of NFP figures seen as potential prime minister candidates.

“Will he or won’t he? As this president is always full of surprises, we’ll see,” she said on RTL radio.

Melenchon highlighted the potential for significant decisions to be made “by decree” on both national and international fronts, emphasising that recognising the State of Palestine would be one of their first actions “as quickly as possible”.

Macron back in February said he was open to recognition of a Palestinian state, but that such a move should “come at a useful moment” and not be “emotional.”

Will the NFP forge consensus?

It remains to be seen whether the NFP – a swath of leftist parties including Melenchon’s France Unbowed (LFI), the Socialist Party, the Greens and the Communist Party – can remain unified and agree on a path forward.

Olivier Faure, centre, the first secretary of the French Socialist Party, says the leftist coalition will chose a prime minister candidate this week [Stephane de Sakutin/AFP]

LFI lawmaker Clementine Autain said the alliance needed “to decide on a balance point to be able to govern”. She said neither former Socialist President Francois Hollande nor Melenchon, a controversial figure even within his own party, should serve as prime minister.

The leader of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, urged “democracy” within the left-wing alliance, which it said would choose a prime ministerial candidate within its ranks by the end of the week.

Raphael Glucksmann, co-president of the smaller pro-European Place Publique party in the alliance, said in the projections, “we’re ahead, but in a divided parliament, … so people are going to have to behave like adults.”

“People are going to have to talk to each other.”

In his first reaction, RN leader Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s protege, called the cooperation between anti-RN forces a “disgraceful alliance” that he said would paralyse France.

Le Pen, who will likely be the party’s candidate for the 2027 presidential election, said, however, that Sunday’s elections, in which the RN made major gains, had sown the seeds for the future.

“Our victory has been merely delayed,” she said.

‘Cracks appearing’

Vassen said there are “cracks appearing” within the NFP camp that Macron may try to exploit for his own ends.

“This could be part of a strategy he [Macron] is playing to win some time,” Vassen said.

Macron, whose presidential term runs until 2027, called the shock snap elections shortly after support for France’s far right surged in European Parliament elections in June.

Rather than rallying behind Macron as he had hoped, millions of French people took the vote as an opportunity to vent their anger about inflation, crime, immigration and other grievances, including his style of government.

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2024-07-08 11:27:36Z
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French elections latest: Left-wing coalition leads exit polls as PM set to resign - The Independent

Hundreds Celebrate In Paris As Far-right Loses Sway In Election Day Exit Poll

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Louise Thomas

Editor

France’s far-right National Rally has failed to become the largest party at parliamentary elections, according to shock exit poll results, which forecast the left-wing New Popular Front coalition is in pole position.

In results which would deliver a bitter blow to Marine Le Pen, an exit poll by Ipsos suggested the NFP coalition will win between 172 and 192 seats, with the Emmanuel Macron-backing Ensemble group taking second place and Ms Le Pen’s party in third place.

Mr Macron took even his own allies by surprise in calling the snap election last month, after the anti-immigration National Rally made huge gains in European elections.

The president gambled that French voters would block the far right as they have in the past.

But the National Rally instead won a larger share than ever in the first round of voting on 30 June.

More than 200 candidates from the Macron-backing Ensemble alliance and left-wing New Popular Front stepped down in seats otherwise facing a three-way battle, in a so-called “republican front” against the far right.

France’s Hollande says leftist coalition ‘must realise what it has to do'

Former Socialist president Francois Hollande said: “The New Popular Front must realise what it has to do today.

“It is the strongest party in the National Assembly. It does not have an absolute majority. As I speak, it has a relative majority.”

Andy Gregory7 July 2024 21:25

Watch: French PM Attal says he will hand in his resignation on Monday

French PM Attal says will hand in resignation Monday, hails new parliamentary era

Andre Langlois7 July 2024 21:23

Outgoing PM claims centrists have defied expectations

Outgoing prime minister Gabriel Attal has suggested that centrists may have defied expectations in France’s parliamentary elections.

He said: “Tonight, the extremes have no absolute majority, thanks to our determination and the strength of our values. We [centrists] have three times more MPs than were predicted at the start of this campaign.

“Being prime minister was the honour of my life. This evening the political group that I represent no longer has a majority and tomorrow morning I will submit my resignation to the president.”

Andy Gregory7 July 2024 21:11

Macron must invite leftist coalition to govern, Melenchon claims

Jean-Luc Melenchon has insisted that Emmanuel Macron must invite his leftist New Popular Front coalition to govern, after exit polls suggested it had won the most seats in France’s snap elections.

Speaking after the shock exit polls, the France Unbowed (LFI) leader said: “The will of the people must be strictly respected. No arrangement would be acceptable. The defeat of the president and his coalition is clearly confirmed. The president must accept his defeat.

“The prime minister must go. The president must invite the New Popular Front to govern.”

Andy Gregory7 July 2024 20:55

‘Our victory has been merely delayed,’ claims Le Pen

Emmanuel Macron is in an “untenable” situation, Marine Le Pen has warned, insisting her far-right National Rally had lost only as a result of tactical voting between the leftist New Popular Front alliance and Mr Macron’s Ensemble group.

“Our victory has been merely delayed,” she told TF1 TV.

(EPA)

Andy Gregory7 July 2024 20:41

PM Attal to tender his resignation to Macron

Prime minister Gabriel Attal has that he will tender his resignation to Mr Macron, but said he was willing to carry out his functions as long as required.

It came as the Elysee Palace said the president himself would wait for the full picture to emerge in parliament before taking the necessary next decisions, but “will respect the choice of French people”.

Mr Attal became France’s youngest prime minister in history when he was appointed in January by Mr Macron at the age of 34, having previously served as minister for education.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron with Mr Attal (AFP via Getty Images)

Andy Gregory7 July 2024 20:33

Macron has suffered ‘resounding defeat’, warns Paris mayor

Paris’s Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo has warned that Emmanuel Macron has suffered another “resounding defeat” despite France voting to see off the far right, according to exit poll predictions.

In a statement reported by Le Parisien, Ms Hidalgo said: “This evening, France escaped the worst thanks to the mobilisation of voters who chose the Republic, by preventing the RN from having a majority in the National Assembly. This is good news for our country, the far right is not in the majority.”

“However, no absolute majority has emerged from the results of the legislative elections,” Ms Hidalgo added.

“The situation of instability that we are going through has only one person responsible: Emmanuel Macron who, on the evening of June 9, deliberately made the choice to plunge the country into a major political crisis.

“This evening, he is once again suffering, after the European elections, a resounding defeat. He will have to draw all the consequences from this.”

Andy Gregory7 July 2024 20:16

Jordan Bardella speaks

The far-right National Rally’s leader, Jordan Bardella, said on Sunday that France had been “thrown into the hands of the far left” after his party failed to win the French parliamentary elections, according to exit polls.

“After deliberately paralysing our institutions, Emmanuel Macron has not pushed the country towards uncertainty and instability. As a result, he has deprived the French people of any response to their day-to-day difficulties for many months to come,” said Bardella.

He pledged his party will “amplify” its work in the opposition.

Jordan Bardella (AFP/Getty)

Andre Langlois7 July 2024 19:48

Watch: Jubilation among supporters as exit polls suggest ‘big victory’ for leftist New Popular Front

‘Big victory’ for New Popular Front

Andy Gregory7 July 2024 19:36

Blow for Le Pen

The projected results would be a major disappointment for Marine Le Pen’s nationalist, eurosceptic National Rally (RN).

The party, which had for weeks been projected to win the election, is on course for 115 to 155 seats.

The first official results are expected later on Sunday, with the results from most, if not all, constituencies likely to be in by the end of the day or the early hours of Monday.

Voters have punished Macron and his ruling alliance for a cost of living crisis and for failing public services, as well as over immigration and security.

Le Pen and her party tapped into those grievances, spreading their appeal way beyond their traditional strongholds along the Mediterranean coast and in the country’s northern rust belt.

But the leftwing alliance looks like it has edged them out of the first spot, in part thanks to limited cooperation by Macron’s centrist Together alliance and the left.

Le Pen’s rivals pulled more than 200 candidates out of three-way races in the second round in a bid to create a unified anti-RN vote.

The constitution mandates that there can be no new parliamentary election for another year.

Andre Langlois7 July 2024 19:35

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Hurricane Beryl: Texas braces for arrival of deadly storm - BBC

Reuters

2 hours ago

The US state of Texas is bracing for the arrival of storm Beryl, which has strengthened into a hurricane again, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters say the storm could bring destructive winds, storm surges and up to 25cm (10 inches) of rain when it makes landfall early on Monday local time.

Some of the state's largest ports have closed in preparation, while residents have been warned of widespread power outages.

Beryl caused at least 10 deaths in the Caribbean before being downgraded to a tropical storm as it hit Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula.

More than a million Texans were placed under a hurricane warning ahead of the storm's arrival.

It is expected to make landfall between the cities of Galveston and Corpus Christi and could reach Category 2 level, meaning that it could sustain winds of up to 177km/h (110mph).

The authorities say that even though it may not be as strong as it was in the Caribbean, it could still cause widespread power outages and disruption in Texas, as far inland as the city of Houston.

The director of the US National Hurricane Center, Michael Brennan, has warned those living in Beryl's path to find a safe place to be through Monday "as hazardous conditions will persist even after the centre of Beryl moves through".

"There's a very considerable risk of flash flooding across the Texas Gulf Coast, eastern Texas, ArkaTex [Arkansas-Texas] region.

"Do not ignore this very serious storm," urged Acting Governor Dan Patrick.

The ports of Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City have all closed, meaning there could be a temporary halt to exports.

All vessel movement and cargo operations have been restricted.

Refugio County, north of Galveston, on Saturday issued a mandatory evacuation - stating the limited capacity of emergency services staff, 4 July holiday traffic and the area's weakened infrastructure from Hurricane Harvey in 2017 as reasons.

Nueces County, meanwhile, ordered the mandatory evacuation of visitors and strongly encouraged locals to leave as well.

More than 2,000 emergency responders have been made ready to deal with Beryl's aftermath, Mr Patrick announced, including members of the Texas National Guard.

According to US forecaster AccuWeather, landfalling hurricanes of this kind are somewhat rare for Texas in July.

Beryl is expected to move across America's central states, including Mississippi, later in the week.

nternational Organization for Migration/Reuters

Hurricane Beryl has been an unprecedented storm. At one stage, it became the earliest Category Five hurricane ever recorded.

It has already left a trail of devastation across the Caribbean - hitting islands including St Vincent and the Grenadines, Mayreau and Union, and Grenada especially hard.

The storm was also one of the most powerful to ever hit Jamaica and left hundreds of thousands of people without power.

Beryl brought heavy rain to the tourist hotspots of Cancún and Tulum in southern Mexico. No major damage was reported but the high winds felled trees and caused power outages.

While it is difficult to attribute specific storms to climate change as the causes are complex, exceptionally high sea surface temperatures are seen as a key reason why Hurricane Beryl has been so powerful.

It is the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic season but the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned that the North Atlantic could get as many as seven major hurricanes this year - up from an average of three in a season.

Related Topics

• Hurricanes
• Texas
• United States

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2024-07-08 03:28:31Z
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