Paris (AFP)

Justice has acquitted the former National Front of fraud charges in the financing of the legislative elections of 2012 and condemned it only in a sub-section of this case, removing the threat of astronomical damages which would have weighed on its finances already bloodless.

At the end of the trial in November, the state had demanded from the far-right party, renamed Rassemblement national, the payment of 11.6 million euros in respect of this scam, corresponding according to him to election expenses reimbursed by the money public. A sword of Damocles for the RN which has just reached an agreement with its Russian creditor to reschedule a loan of around 9.6 million euros taken out in 2014.

But the Paris Criminal Court ruled on Tuesday that it had not found "fraudulent maneuvers" or evidence of overcharging behind the compulsory and uniform supply of campaign kits - leaflets, posters, websites ... - to party candidates and reimbursed by public money.

The decision "sounds like a victory for the National Rally", the political party responded with a statement. The court "put an end to the very serious accusations widely reported by the media for many years", welcomes the party of Marine Le Pen, also indicted with its president in the case of European parliamentary assistants.

The judges, on the other hand, condemned the party to a fine of 18,750 euros for "concealing the abuse of corporate property", the maximum amount for such an offense at the material time. Or much less than the 500,000 euros desired by the prosecution, which had requested the conviction for the acts of complicity in scam.

The magistrates therefore only found the party guilty for having benefited from improper advantages with the communication company Riwal, in particular the fictitious employment of two current elected representatives, Nicolas Bay and David Rachline, of the purchase of equipment and especially the granting to the FN of an interest-free loan of several million euros for three years.

- "Attack on democracy" -

Without this "supplier credit" requested by the party, the "fictitious loan mechanism could not have been put in place," the judges said.

The court also stressed that "the facts seemed particularly serious" because they had "damaged the confidence of citizens in the functioning of political parties" and "democracy".

The heaviest sentence was pronounced against Frédéric Chatillon, close adviser to Marine Le Pen at the head of Riwal, sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison, including ten months firm.

This former president of Gud, the far-right student union, was also fined 250,000 euros for several scams and a long series of misuse of corporate assets to the detriment of his business, estimated at 500,000 euros by the tribunal.

Jean-François Jalkh, a party lawyer, for his part, was sentenced to two years in prison, including six months in prison, as well as a five-year ineligibility sentence. The magistrates considered that he was "the author of the financial package" and could not ignore his "fictitious nature".

Against Jeanne, the micro-party of Marine Le Pen which he chaired and which served for these maneuvers, the court fixed a fine of 300,000 euros, half of which was suspended.

RN treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just was sentenced to six months suspended prison sentence for the same offenses alleged against the party.

Three other relatives of Frédéric Chatillon were sentenced to suspended prison terms ranging from one to two years and, for two of them - his partner Sighild Blanc and the chartered accountant Nicolas Crochet - to respective fines of 100,000 euros and 40,000 euros.

A last defendant, Axel Loustau, another former Gud, for his part was completely relaxed.

In the section on fictitious loans, the court estimated the State's damage at around 860,000 euros, which must be compensated jointly by MM. Chatillon, Jalkh, the micro-party Jeanne, and two other protagonists.

The defendants and the prosecution now have twenty days to appeal.

© 2020 AFP