France’s Le Pen denies wrongdoing as she and her party go on trial accused of embezzling EU funds

France’s Le Pen denies wrongdoing as she and her party go on trial accused of embezzling EU funds
President of Rassemblement National parliamentary group Marine Le Pen, 24 other persons and the RN party are set to be tried by the Paris Criminal Court begining on September 30, 2024 on charges relating to suspicions of embezzlement of European funds. (AFP)
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Updated 30 September 2024
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France’s Le Pen denies wrongdoing as she and her party go on trial accused of embezzling EU funds

France’s Le Pen denies wrongdoing as she and her party go on trial accused of embezzling EU funds
  • The nine-week trial will be closely watched by Le Pen’s political rivals as she remains a strong contender in the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron
  • 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

PARIS: 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.
Arriving at the court in Paris, Le Pen said “we have not violated any political and regulatory rules of the European Parliament” and vowed to present “extremely serious and extremely solid arguments″ in the trial.”
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
It comes as a new government dominated by centrists and conservatives just came into office in the wake of June-July legislative elections. Some observers expect the trial could prevent National Rally lawmakers, including Le Pen herself, from fully playing their opposition role in Parliament as they would be busy focusing on the party’s defense.
Since stepping down as party leader three years ago, Le Pen has sought to position herself as a mainstream candidate capable of appealing to a broader electorate. Her efforts have paid off, with the party making significant gains in recent elections at both the European and national levels. But a guilty verdict could seriously undermine her bid to take the Elysee.
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.
Le Pen, whose party has softened its anti-EU stance in recent years, denies wrongdoing and claims the case is politically driven.
“Parliamentary assistants do not work for the Parliament. They are political assistants to elected officials, political by definition,” she argued in her defense. “You ask me if I can define the tasks I assigned to my assistants; it depends on each person’s skills. Some wrote speeches for me, and some handled logistics and coordination.”
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. Additional penalties, such as the loss of civil rights or ineligibility to run for office, could also be imposed, a scenario that could hamper, or even destroy, Le Pen’s goal to mount another presidential bid after Macron’s term ends. Le Pen was runner-up to Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.
She served as party president from 2011 to 2021 and now heads the group of RN lawmakers at the French National Assembly.
Despite her denial, her party has already paid back 1 million to the European Parliament, the Parliament’s lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve said. Of that amount, 330,000 euros were directly linked to Marine Le Pen’s alleged misuse of funds.
A longstanding controversy
The legal proceedings stem from a 2015 alert raised by Martin Schulz, then-president of the European Parliament, to French authorities about possible fraudulent use of European funds by members of the National Front.
Schulz also referred the case to the European Anti-Fraud Office, which launched a separate probe into the matter.
The European Parliament’s suspicions were further heightened when a 2015 organizational chart showed that 16 European lawmakers and 20 parliamentary assistants held official positions within the party — roles unrelated to their supposed duties as EU parliamentary staff.
A subsequent investigation found that some assistants were contractually linked to different MEPs than the ones they were actually working for, suggesting a scheme to divert European funds to pay party employees in France.
Alexandre Varault, a spokesperson for the National Rally who was elected to the European Parliament in June, told The Associated Press that Le Pen will attend the first day of the trial, adding that he hopes for the acquittal of all the defendants.
Misuse of public funds alleged
Investigating judges concluded that Le Pen, as party leader, orchestrated the allocation of parliamentary assistance budgets and instructed MEPs to hire individuals holding party positions. These individuals were presented as EU parliamentary assistants, but in reality, were allegedly working for the National Rally in various capacities.
The European Parliament’s legal team is seeking 2.7 million euros in compensation for financial and reputational damages. This figure corresponds to the 3.7 million euros allegedly defrauded through the scheme, minus the 1 million euros already paid back.
During the 2014 European elections, the National Front won a record 24 MEP seats, finishing first with 24.8 percent of the vote, ahead of the center-right and the Socialists. This surge resulted in a substantial financial windfall for the party, which faced severe financial problems at the time.
An audit of the party’s accounts between 2013 and 2016 revealed that it was running a deficit of 9.1 million euros by the end of 2016. Yet, the party still had a cash balance of 1.7 million euros and had lent 1 million euros to Le Pen’s 2017 presidential campaign, while also holding 87,000 euros in loans to Cotelec, its funding association.
At the time, the party was also indebted to a Russian bank for 9.4 million euros, a loan taken out in 2014 for 6 million euros.
Suspected systemic practice
The investigation uncovered many irregularities involving prominent party members.
Thierry Légier, the long-time bodyguard of Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie, was listed as his parliamentary assistant. But his resume did not reference this role, and he made no mention of it in his 2012 autobiography. Légier admitted during the investigation that he was not interviewed and signed his employment contract without fully understanding his official role.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the National Front from 1972 to 2011, will not appear in court alongside his former colleagues due to health concerns. Now 96, he was deemed unfit to testify by a court in June. He has 11 prior convictions, including for violence against a public official and hate speech.
He has denied wrongdoing during his time as party leader, stating that the “pool” of assistants was common knowledge. “I did not choose which assistants were assigned to me. That was decided by Marine Le Pen and others. I only signed the contracts,” he said.


North Gaza’s Indonesia Hospital resumes emergency services

North Gaza’s Indonesia Hospital resumes emergency services
Updated 19 sec ago
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North Gaza’s Indonesia Hospital resumes emergency services

North Gaza’s Indonesia Hospital resumes emergency services
  • Indonesia Hospital was one of the first targets hit by Israeli attacks in October 2023
  • It treats patients with minor trauma to lessen overcrowding at Al-Awda Hospital

JAKARTA: The Indonesia Hospital in north Gaza has resumed 24-hour emergency services, the NGO that funded it has said, as efforts are underway to start repairs to the hospital after it was severely damaged by Israeli forces.

The hospital in Beit Lahiya, a four-story building located near the Jabalia refugee camp, was built from donations organized by the Jakarta-based Medical Emergency Rescue Committee. Like other health care facilities in Gaza, it was severely damaged by Israeli attacks.

But its round-the-clock emergency services have resumed this month at the request of the Gaza Ministry of Health, following the return of hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to north Gaza since Jan. 27.

“As the only functioning hospital, Al-Awda, is not only full but overcrowded, the Gaza Ministry of Health has asked for the emergency department at the Indonesia Hospital to reopen,” Hadiki Habib, who heads MER-C’s latest batch of emergency medical team in Gaza, said during a live-streamed press conference on Wednesday.

“So our emergency department resumed its 24-hours operation on Feb. 1, and we mainly take care of minor trauma cases … We hope to expand our services once essential repairs at the hospital are done.”

Two specialist doctors and a nurse from the Indonesian medical team will be working alongside volunteer Palestinian doctors to provide services at the emergency department, Habib said, adding that many patients had infected wounds and injuries from Israeli attacks on Gaza, which were neglected before the ceasefire took effect on Jan. 19.

As Palestinians begin the process of rebuilding their homes destroyed by Israeli bombardment, doctors are also recording new injuries from cleaning up the rubble that now covers much of Gaza.

“North Gaza, which was heavily impacted by the war, certainly requires special care, particularly in terms of health care, and this will be our focus as our expertise is in emergency health care,” said Yogi Prabowo, chairman of MER-C’s executive committee in Jakarta.

“We are also preparing to begin reparations and rebuilding of the Indonesia Hospital, including adding new facilities, such as buildings and health equipment.”

The Indonesia Hospital was one of the first targets hit when Israel began its assault on Gaza in October 2023, during which 47,500 people have been killed and more than 111,000 injured.

Israel frequently targeted medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, saying that they are used by Palestinian armed groups.


France delivers first Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine: minister

France delivers first Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine: minister
Updated 06 February 2025
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France delivers first Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine: minister

France delivers first Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine: minister
  • France announced the delivery of the first fighter jets as talk of a negotiated end to the nearly three-year war has risen with Donald Trump back in the White House and Ukraine’s troops struggling on

Paris: France on Thursday delivered a first consignment of Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine to help Kyiv defend its airspace against Russia, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Thursday.
“The first of these aircraft have arrived in Ukraine today,” Lecornu said on X, without saying how many had been delivered. After France helped train Ukrainian pilots over recent months, “they will now help defend Ukraine’s skies,” he added.
Last June, President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would transfer Mirage 2000-5 aircraft to Ukraine and train their Ukrainian pilots as part of military cooperation with Kyiv.
Of the 26 Mirage 2000-5 aircraft owned by the French air force, six were to be transferred to Ukraine, according to a budget report published by France’s National Assembly lower house.
The French defense ministry neither denied nor confirmed the figure for security reasons.
Ukrainian pilots and mechanics have been trained in eastern France to use the jets, which have undergone modifications including to combat Russian jamming.
France announced the delivery of the first fighter jets as talk of a negotiated end to the nearly three-year war has risen with Donald Trump back in the White House and Ukraine’s troops struggling on the battlefield in the east.
In August, Ukraine received its first consignment of US-made F-16 fighter jets.


Spain rejects Israel’s suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza

Spain rejects Israel’s suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza
Updated 06 February 2025
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Spain rejects Israel’s suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza

Spain rejects Israel’s suggestion it should accept Palestinians from Gaza

MADRID: Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Thursday rejected the suggestion by Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz that Spain should accept displaced Palestinians from Gaza.
“Gazans’ land is Gaza and Gaza must be part of the future Palestinian state,” Albares said in an interview with Spanish radio station RNE.
Katz ordered the army on Thursday to prepare a plan to allow the “voluntary departure” of residents from the Gaza Strip, Israeli media reported.
The instruction followed US President Donald Trump’s shock announcement that the United States plans to take over Gaza, resettle the Palestinians living there and transform the territory into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Katz added Spain, Ireland and Norway, which last year recognized a Palestinian state, are “legally obligated to allow any Gaza resident to enter their territories.”


Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina’s father’s home

Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina’s father’s home
Updated 06 February 2025
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Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina’s father’s home

Bangladesh protesters torch ousted PM Hasina’s father’s home
  • The house symbolized Bangladesh’s establishment, as Mujibur Rahman declared independence from there
  • Much of Sheikh Hasina Wajid’s family, including her father, was assassinated in the same building in 1975

DHAKA: Thousands of protesters set fire to the home of Bangladesh’s founding leader, as his daughter, ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina delivered a fiery social media speech calling on her supporters to stand against the interim government.
Witnesses said several thousand protesters, some armed with sticks, hammers, and other tools, gathered around the historic house and independence monument, while others brought a crane and excavator to demolish the building.
The rally was organized alongside a broader call, dubbed “Bulldozer Procession,” to disrupt Hasina’s scheduled 9 p.m. online address on Wednesday.
Protesters, many aligned with the “Students Against Discrimination” group, had expressed their fury over Hasina’s speech, which they viewed as a challenge to the newly formed interim government.
Tensions have been escalating in Bangladesh since August 2024, when mass protests forced Hasina to flee to neighboring India.
The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has struggled to maintain control as protests and unrest have continued. Demonstrators have attacked symbols of Hasina’s government, including the house of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which was first set ablaze in August.
A symbol of the country’s establishment, the house is where Bangabandhu (friend of Bengal), as he is popularly known, declared Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
A few years later it became the site of a national tragedy. Mujibur Rahman and most of his family were assassinated at the house in 1975. Hasina, who survived the attack, later transformed the building into a museum dedicated to her father’s legacy.
“They can demolish a building, but not the history. History takes its revenge,” Hasina said in her speech on Wednesday.
She urged the people of Bangladesh to stand against the interim government, accusing them of seizing power in an unconstitutional manner.
The student-led movement behind the protests has voiced plans to dismantle the country’s 1972 Constitution, which they argue embodies the legacy of her father’s rule.


What to know about the court cases over President Trump’s birthright citizenship order

What to know about the court cases over President Trump’s birthright citizenship order
Updated 06 February 2025
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What to know about the court cases over President Trump’s birthright citizenship order

What to know about the court cases over President Trump’s birthright citizenship order
  • Trump’s executive order aims to end citizenship for children born to parents not legally in the country

SEATTLE: A federal judge who already questioned the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order is set to hear arguments Thursday over a longer-term pause of the directive, which aims to end citizenship for children born to parents not legally in the country.
US District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle has scheduled a hearing involving lawyers from the Trump administration, four states suing to stop the order, and an immigrant rights organization, which is challenging it on behalf of a proposed class of expectant parents.
The latest proceeding comes just a day after a Maryland federal judge issued a nationwide pause in a separate but similar case involving immigrants’ rights groups and pregnant women whose soon-to-born children could be affected.
Here’s a closer look at where things stand on the president’s birthright citizenship order.
Where do things stand on birthright citizenship?
The president’s executive order seeks to end the automatic grant of citizenship to children born on US soil to parents who are in the country illegally or who are here on a temporary, but lawful, basis such as those on student or tourist visas.
For now, though, it’s on hold. Two weeks ago, Coughenour called the order “blatantly unconstitutional” and issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking its implementation. On Wednesday, US District Judge Deborah Boardman followed that up with an injunction keeping it on hold long-term, until the merits of the case are resolved, barring a successful appeal by the Trump administration.
Asked by Boardman if the administration would appeal, an attorney for the administration said he didn’t immediately have the authority to make that decision.
What’s happening in the latest case?
On Thursday, the birthright citizenship issue is back before Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee. During a hearing last month, he said the case stood out in his more than four decades as a federal judge. “I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is,” he told a Justice Department attorney.
His temporary order blocking the executive action was set to expire Thursday when he’ll hear arguments over whether he should issue an injunction similar to the one issued by the judge in Maryland.
What about the other cases challenging the president’s order?
In total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action.
The matter before the Seattle judge Thursday involves four states: Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. It also has been consolidated with a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Eighteen states, led by Iowa, have filed a “friend-of-the-court” brief supporting the Trump administration’s position in the case.
Yet another hearing is set for Friday in a Massachusetts court. That case involves a different group of 18 states challenging the order, including New Jersey, which is the lead plaintiff.
What’s at issue here?
At the heart of the lawsuits is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and the infamous Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, which held Scott, an enslaved man, wasn’t a citizen despite having lived in a state where slavery was outlawed.
The plaintiffs argue the amendment, which holds that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” are indisputably citizens.
The Trump administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship.
“The Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to ... the children of those who have circumvented (or outright defied) federal immigration laws,” the government argued in reply to the Maryland plaintiffs’ suit.
Attorneys for the states have argued that it certainly does — and that has been recognized since the amendment’s adoption, notably in an 1898 US Supreme Court decision. That decision, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, held that the only children who did not automatically receive US citizenship upon being born on US soil were children of diplomats, who have allegiance to another government; enemies present in the US during hostile occupation; those born on foreign ships; and those born to members of sovereign Native American tribes.
The US is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.