Trial of FN parliamentary assistant: history of the struggle to convince the court

Robert Novoski

Bruno Gollnisch, historic executive of the National Front, in Paris court, October 8, 2024. Bruno Gollnisch, historic executive of the National Front, in Paris court, October 8, 2024.

At first, the court barely concealed an amused smile as it listened to the old man explain, with a strong imperfect subjunctive, about the Constitutional Council, the separation of powers and the court’s inability to hear the cases of the Front National (FN) assistants of the European Parliament. Bruno Gollnisch, 74, the party’s former number two, Japanology professor and former dean of the right-wing Lyon-III faculty, was asked about his assistant’s somewhat questionable contract. He is accused of stealing 1.41 million in European funds between 2005 and 2015, for three people who actually worked for FN.

An hour later, on Tuesday 8 October, President Bénédicte de Perthuis showed signs of impatience, however, for the first time she had held an audience, Professor Gollnisch had no intention of giving up so easily and answered the questions with real enthusiasm. After four hours, the president asked him to sit down again. We would have happily pitied his lawyer, Mᵉ Nicolay Fakiroff, if he had not in his turn asked endless questions which only resulted in throwing an additional shovelful of coal into the defendant’s verbal locomotive, which was launched at full speed.

The president was angry the next day. “What do you want to say that you haven’t said yet?” » “Many things, Madam President”Bruno Gollnisch responded impolitely. “You always explain the same thing, cut MIfrom Perth we do not want anything general, we cannot speak in vague terms. » “Madam President, I will be very specific. Some elements in the procedures at the Court of Justice of the European Union…” “This is not a question we asked you, the president is frankly annoying. We can’t spend time hearing you repeat the same thing. If not, we stop. Sit for five minutes. » “If I was interrupted all the time while I was presenting evidence…”grumbled the old man.

“I don’t know why they changed the envelope”

The three former MEP assistants have a more classic defense, unfortunately not much more effective. Micheline Bruna, Jean-Marie Le Pen’s personal secretary, who is paid by Strasbourg and is also supposed to be Bruno Gollnisch’s parliamentary assistant, agrees that she always updates the MPs’ envelope table and that a new assistant is brought in for part time here, a few days there, just to cover the budget offered by Parliament. “You are the one who concentrates the budget funds of the deputies”justify prosecution. “Jean-Marie Le Pen told me: “So-and-so will bypass such and such MP”, I made the arrangements”, M’s confessionIBruna. “But that’s for budgetary reasons? » “Ah, I don’t know why they changed the envelope. he answered, everyone was confused by the evidence. I don’t have the power to make a decision…”

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