My party had no ‘system’ to misuse EU funds, Marine Le Pen tells appeal trial

Marine Le Pen at the Palais de Justice in Paris where she is seeking to overturn last year’s guilty verdict. Photograph: Jumeau Alexis/Abaca/Shutterstock

The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has told a Paris appeals court there was no “system” set up by her party to misuse European parliament funds, as she gave evidence in a fresh embezzlement trial that will determine whether she can run in the 2027 presidential election.

“The word ‘system’ bothers me because [it gives] the impression of a manipulation,” Le Pen said on Tuesday, denying she had told members of the European parliament to hire assistants who instead worked for the party headquarters in Paris.