France's Marine Le Pen accused of EU fraud

European Parliament says it will try to recover $148,000 from presidential candidate

French far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen on the campaign trail in north-western France. AFP

The European Parliament on Sunday said it would try to recover money it says it is owed by Marine Le Pen as the far-right leader prepares to face President Emmanuel Macron in France's close election run-off.

French news platform Mediapart said a report by the EU's anti-fraud body Olaf accused Ms Le Pen and three other former MEPs — including her father Jean-Marie — of misusing European Parliament funds.

The report alleged that Ms Le Pen misappropriated about €137,000 ($148,000) of public money from the Strasbourg parliament during her time as an MEP between 2004 and 2017.

A source said the European Parliament had referred the case to Olaf after uncovering alleged irregularities.

“In total, we're talking about €617,000 ($667,000) wrongfully paid. We will now proceed with recovery (of the money) from the interested parties in the coming weeks,” the source said.

Olaf's investigation has been open since 2016 and Ms Le Pen was questioned by post in March 2021, her lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut told AFP.

Ms Le Pen has faced another investigation since 2017, over suspicions of employing fictional party assistants in the European Parliament.

Polls give the National Rally leader a strong chance of beating Mr Macron in the second round of France's presidential election on April 24.