A European Union court on Wednesday, July 16, dismissed an appeal brought by French far-right figure Jean-Marie Le Pen's heirs against a European Parliament decision, which demanded that they repay about €300,000 ($348,000) that the late far-right leader had unduly claimed in expenses. Last year, the EU Parliament accused Le Pen of having improperly invoiced money he had spent on personal matters as parliamentary expenses. A report by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) found that, between 2009 and 2018, Le Pen unduly invoiced items including umbrellas, kitchen scales, desk clocks, smart watches, virtual reality glasses, and 129 wine bottles.
Le Pen appealed and, after his death earlier this year, the proceedings were taken up by his daughter Marine Le Pen, who leads France's far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party, and her siblings.
"The General Court dismisses the action brought by Mr. Le Pen and his heirs," the court, the lower chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union, said in a statement. "The procedure which led the Parliament to adopt the recovery decision and to issue the debit note is not contrary to the principles of legal certainty and the protection of legitimate expectations." The ruling can be appealed.
The money involved was incorrectly claimed by Le Pen under the so-called "budget line 400," which is mainly intended to cover European lawmakers' office rental and equipment costs. Parliament subsequently demanded that Le Pen repay €303,201.
The firebrand politician, an extreme right-winger who haunted the French political establishment for decades, died in January, aged 96.