Patrick Maisonneuve adopted a seemingly affable demeanor as he delivered his arguments, as if the matter at hand were not that serious. Yet, his attacks were sharp. In an hour of closing arguments at the Paris courthouse Tuesday, November 12, the lawyer for the European Parliament laid bare the flaws of the defense, with a particularly pointed critique, in the trial concerning the parliamentary assistants of Marine Le Pen's far-right Front National (FN, now Rassemblement National, RN).

He focused first on Nicolas Bay, a member of the European Parliament since 2014 (who left the RN in 2022). As part of his defense, Maisonneuve said, he "did not hesitate," in an attempt to prove that his assistant had indeed worked in the European Parliament, "to present to the investigating judges with press reviews constituted after the fact."

Maisonneuve then recalled that Yann Maréchal, upon being offered a contract to be work alongside Le Pen, her sister, expressed her doubts with comments like, "That's going to be noticeable," and, "it's not totally discreet," worrying about the contract's "tribulations," while she was working on major events at the party headquarters.

"As for Wallerand de Saint Just," pressed Maisonneuve, referring to the party's former treasurer, "he was offered the role of assistant to MEP Philippe Loiseau (...) This seems rather peculiar for someone serving as the party treasurer and a member of the executive board. And when someone commented, 'that's a bit much,' the defense suggested it was a bit much on a budgetary level! That's audacious..."

He directed a sharper critique at Julien Odoul, who had ambitions to work in Marine Le Pen's staff. Odoul had received an email from her chief of staff, saying, "Phew, it's okay, the financial arrangement is set for next week." Odoul responded with enthusiasm, "Hallelujah!" Upon learning his payment would come from EU funds, he wrote, "No problem, I'm truly motivated to work for her staff, and she won't regret it." The Parliament's lawyer continued in the same vein: "Mr. Odoul, who has supposedly been employed as an assistant for more than four months, wrote to Marine Le Pen: 'I would like to get to know the European Parliament. And it would also allow me to meet the MEP to whom I am attached.'" The audience laughed, but not the defense's benches.

"Mr. Odoul is a French MP," the lawyer reminded sternly, "and a spokesperson for his party. What image does this convey? It seems one can openly mock the court. When it comes to saying judges are lenient, there is no hesitation, but he is incapable of having basic respect for judicial authority." The lawyer argued that this was indeed a "system," and brandished as evidence the treasurer's note that claimed, "We will only manage if we make significant savings from the European Parliament."

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