All twelve defendants in the FN assistants case file appeals in cassation

Paris – 20/07/2026: All twelve defendants in the case concerning allegedly misused funds for parliamentary assistants of the former Front National have filed appeals in cassation against the appeal ruling. Initially, eight appeals had become known; appeals have now been lodged by all defendants convicted on appeal. The affair is therefore being brought before France’s highest civil and criminal court following the decision of the Paris Court of Appeal on July 7, 2026.

The appeals chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal found the twelve defendants guilty on July 7 of various offences related to the embezzlement of public funds. Those concerned include former Members of the European Parliament, former parliamentary assistants, party officials and the Rassemblement National as a legal entity. The court upheld the core of the criminal allegations, but also issued acquittals for certain periods in individual cases.

According to the court, an organisational system existed through which the salaries of certain assistants to Members of the European Parliament were financed by the European Parliament, although their actual work benefited the national party apparatus. The appeal judges put the financial damage to the European Parliament at 2.8 million euros. Their decision was based on 28 employment contracts, which they assessed as criminally relevant.

Those convicted include Marine Le Pen, Louis Aliot, Nicolas Bay, Bruno Gollnisch and Fernand Le Rachinel. Marine Le Pen was sentenced on appeal to three years’ imprisonment, including two years suspended. The custodial part of the sentence is to be served under electronically monitored home detention. She was also barred from standing for election for a total of 45 months, with 30 months suspended.

The Court of Appeal stated that the practices in question had extended over more than eleven years. It also found that the MEPs concerned had not personally enriched themselves. Rather, the beneficiary of the established misappropriation had been the national party. The European Parliament is involved in the proceedings as the sole civil party and is to be compensated for the established financial damage.

An appeal in cassation does not open a new examination of the facts. The Court of Cassation examines in particular whether the Court of Appeal correctly applied the rules of law and conducted the proceedings lawfully. It may dismiss the appeals or set aside the decision in whole or in part. If the ruling is set aside, the case may be referred to another Court of Appeal within the limits of the cassation decision.

The appeals were filed within the ten full-day deadline provided for criminal cases after the appeal ruling was delivered. No information is yet available on when the Court of Cassation will issue its decision. Until then, the case remains in a decisive legal phase, while the specific enforcement of individual sentences depends on the applicable legal rules and court orders.