Third and final chance for Marine Le Pen to make her arguments heard in court. The leader of the French far right was questioned for the third consecutive day at the trial on the case of suspicions of fictitious employment by the RN. She once again hammered home her innocence on Wednesday. “There is zero proof!” “, she chanted at her trial.
The disappointed presidential candidate was questioned for each suspicious contract she concluded between 2008 and 2016, for a total amount of 470,000 euros, when she was a European deputy, each time after the implicated parliamentary assistant.
About Guillaume L’Hullier, who according to the prosecution was paid from the European envelope of the former president of the party when he was in reality chief of staff of his father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Marine Le Pen, emphasizes each word in a slow flow: “He did a job as a parliamentary assistant”. Then, as is often the case when the questions become clearer, she gets annoyed and changes the subject. “I have a problem, Madam President.” Unlike most of her 24 co-defendants who deserted the court after the first day of hearing, Marine Le Pen is there permanently or almost.
A “legal problem”
As soon as she has the floor, Marine Le Pen does everything to keep it. As well as the mastery of the subject: against the European Parliament, of which the RN is the “bete noire” and which “lied” several times at the hearing, or the “bad faith” of the prosecution. And above all explain “politics” – the court often reminding him that that is not the subject.
“The real question,” she dodged again on Wednesday, “is: on the basis of what serious and consistent evidence am I obliged to respond? “. “You are not obliged to respond,” clarifies the presidency. “Sorry, but there is a legal problem! It is up to me to come and prove my innocence,” protests the three-time presidential candidate once again, believing that “the accusation provides no evidence.” “Madam President, my feeling… is that there is zero evidence, zero conclusive evidence.”
The president does not let herself be moved, recalling that we are, at the time of the trial, beyond the stage of simple “clues”. And that “it is the court which will assess whether or not there are sufficient elements”, continues the magistrate. As for “zero evidence”… “it’s your way of looking at things”. The hearing will resume Monday with further questioning.