The Paris court announced on Wednesday that the deteriorating health of the founder of the National Rally party, Jean-Marie Le Pen, does not allow him to attend the trial in the case of the fake parliamentary assistants.
The trial primarily targets his daughter, leader of France's far-right National Rally, Marine Le Pen , who has been summoned to appear along with 26 other people, to shed light on suspicions of embezzlement of European funds between 2004 and 2016.
French media reported that "Jean-Marie Le Pen will not participate in the trial related to the fictitious hiring of assistants to National Rally deputies in the European Parliament, which his daughter Marine is scheduled to appear before in the fall."
The Paris prosecutor's office ruled on Wednesday that the 96-year-old founder of the National Rally party was incompatible with his health being able to attend the trial, adding that the decision would be made on September 30.
Court-appointed experts examined Jean-Marie Le Pen at his home on June 19 and noted a "serious deterioration in his mental and physical health."
Marine Le Pen will stand trial in the case of creating fake jobs for assistants to MEPs from the party in the autumn. The trial is expected to last until November 27. Twenty-six people have been called in for questioning, all former MEPs and their assistants.
Prosecutors are calling for the main defendants to be tried before a Paris court on charges of "misuse of public funds" from the European Union between 2004 and 2016, and for a hearing against Perpignan mayor Louis Allot and former National Rally MP Nicolas Baye, who left the party and was recently re-elected as an MEP.
French media reported that they are "accused of using European Parliament funds to pay for the work of assistants who actually worked only for the National Rally party." Marine Le Pen has always denied all the accusations against her and her party.
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