Nanterre (AFP)

One of the vice-presidents of the RN, Steeve Briois, will have to answer in court for "complicity in public provocation to discrimination" for having prefaced a guide which recommended to the elected officials of his party to apply the "national preference" in matters of housing .

Initially placed under the status of witness assisted in this case, Mr. Briois, mayor of Hénin-Beaumont, was indicted last November and referred to the court of Nanterre with the MEP RN Jean-François Jalkh, prosecuted him for "incitement to discrimination," AFP learned Monday from a judicial source.

The case began in 2014 with a complaint by the Maison des Potes association against those responsible for the publication of the "Practical guide for elected municipal officials at the National Front".

In this document published before the municipal elections of March 2014, the National Front (now the National Assembly) urged its future elected officials to demand, in particular, the application of the "national priority in access to social housing".

"The candidate head of the list will be able to express himself publicly and recall in his speech the following points: to defend the national priority, ex: in the allocation of social housing", wrote the text.

In this case, the former MEP Sophie Montel, who has since left the frontist party, is also dismissed for "complicity in public provocation to discrimination", according to the referral order consulted by AFP.

Mr. Jalkh was then director of publications of the FN, Ms. Montel responsible for the coordination of elected officials within the general secretariat and Mr. Briois, then secretary general, had prefaced the guide.

The European Parliament had lifted the immunity of Mr. Jalkh in November 2016, those of Steeve Briois and Sophie Montel in October 2018.

- "Delirium" -

"In a delirious way, it is reproached to this guide, of which I am neither the editor, nor the author, of praising the merits of the national preference", reacted with AFP Steeve Briois.

“In substance as well as in form, there is obviously no complicity or incitement to discrimination on my part,” he added.

For his part, Me David Dassa-Le Deist affirmed that his client Jean-François Jalkh "disputes any criminal liability" and "any exhortation to discrimination whatsoever".

In another case, Mr. Jalkh was indicted on July 6 for "embezzlement of public funds" in the investigation into suspicions of fictitious jobs by parliamentary assistants of Marine Le Pen's party.

In total, around 29 elected officials and assistants, including Ms. Le Pen, her father and the party itself, are indicted for "embezzlement of public funds" or related offenses.

"We fought for more than six years to have this dismissal and we obtained it despite all the roadblocks of the RN", rejoiced to AFP Samuel Thomas, president of the Maison des Potes.

According to him, "this reference serves as a reminder that advocating national preference and giving orders to implement discriminatory policies in cities are prohibited".

This referral to justice of these two RN executives comes in the midst of the launch of Marine Le Pen's presidential campaign.

“These lawsuits are shameful,” Ms. Le Pen said on Twitter on Monday.

"I will again defend this position (national preference, editor's note) during the 2022 presidential election. I therefore await justice firmly. We will not back down."

ali / pa / dch

© 2021 AFP