Jean-marie Le Pen may miss fraud trial while in family’s care
JEAN-MARIE LE PEN, the former leader of the French far-right, has been placed under the legal guardianship of his family, which may allow him to avoid an impending fraud trial.
The 95 year-old, who has been in frail health for some time, co-founded and led the National Front and in 2002 stunned France by making the run-off ballot in presidential elections.
The legal guardianship was granted at the request of his family, a senior party figure said yesterday.
His daughter Marine took over the party, renaming it the National Rally (RN) and seeking to move it toward the political mainstream, even as opponents accuse it of being inherently racist.
Mr Le Pen has been placed by a court outside Paris “under a regime of judicial protection”, Louis Aliot, the RN’S deputy leader, said. The ruling, issued after medical tests, will allow his children to take decisions in his name. According to those close to him, Mr Le Pen’s health has declined significantly since he suffered a heart attack in April 2023.
The move also raises questions over whether Mr Le Pen will be able to stand trial alongside his daughter and two dozen others from Sept 30 on charges they used EU funds to finance party activities in France.
They are accused of using parliamentary money to pay for assistants who in fact worked for the RN. The party denies the charges.
“I think the court will have to decide that he can neither appear at, nor testify, nor participate in this trial,” Mr Aliot said. A decision on Mr Le Pen’s participation must be announced at the beginning of July.
The trial will also be a crucial moment for Marine Le Pen, who is widely expected to make a fourth bid for the presidency in 2027, with analysts saying she has her best chance yet of winning the Elysee Palace.
Ms Le Pen fell spectacularly out with her father after she took over the party in 2011 and then essentially blackballed him in a bid to detoxify the Front National brand, changing its name to the National Rally.
Her father later sided with his niece Marion Maréchal when she deserted the party to join forces with hard-right rival Eric Zemmour. However, Ms Le Pen recently told The Telegraph that father and daughter had made peace.
“He has his character, but I have mine too,” she said.
She added: “He’s 95 years old, and fortunately I’ve put my relationship with him back on track, otherwise it would be very sad. He’s an old man now, so it’s my duty as his daughter to try and have a normal relationship with him. And we don’t talk about politics any more. So when we don’t talk about it, we don’t argue as much.”