EU Court Orders Le Pen Sisters to Return Money to EU

(MENAFN) The EU General Court located in Luxembourg has instructed Marine Le Pen and her two siblings to reimburse more than €300,000 (equivalent to over $350,000) to the European Union.

According to a statement released on Wednesday, the sum was “considered to have been wrongly received” by their father, the late opposition figure Jean-Marie Le Pen, during his tenure as a representative in the European Parliament.

In 2024, the legislative authority asserted that Jean-Marie Le Pen “had improperly invoiced personal expenses” and consequently demanded the funds be repaid.

However, he contested the demand and sought to challenge the decision through legal means. After his passing in January, his daughters continued the legal case as his rightful successors.

Jean-Marie Le Pen, who founded the nationalist National Front, was a prominent and vocal opponent of deeper EU integration.

He held a seat in the European Parliament from 1984 until 2019. Known for his hardline stances on national autonomy and immigration, Le Pen frequently confronted the mainstream French political class.

Notably, many of the positions once regarded as extreme or marginal have now entered the mainstream discourse in European politics.

This verdict arrives only a few months after Marine Le Pen, a previous head of the right-wing National Rally (RN) and a three-time contender for the French presidency, was found guilty of misusing EU funds.

MENAFN17072025000045017167ID1109813436