FRENCH far-right politician Marine Le Pen has denied violating any rules as she — and her National Rally party — went on trial today, accused of embezzling European Union funds.

Arriving at the court in Paris, Ms Le Pen said “we have not violated any political and regulatory rules of the European Parliament” and she vowed to present “extremely serious and extremely solid arguments” in the trial.

After hearing a judge read the charges in court, Ms Le Pen said she will “answer all the questions the court may ask.”

The trial, set to run for nine weeks, will be closely watched by Ms Le Pen’s political rivals as she is a strong contender in the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron when the next presidential election takes place in 2027.

It comes as a new right-wing government takes office in France in the wake of the June-July legislative elections. 

Some observers expect the trial could prevent NR lawmakers, including Ms Le Pen herself, from fully playing their opposition role in Parliament as they would be busy focusing on the party’s defence.

Since stepping down as party leader three years ago, Ms Le Pen has sought to position herself as a mainstream candidate capable of appealing to a broader electorate.

But a guilty verdict could seriously undermine her bid to take the Elysee.

The NR and 27 of its top officials are accused of having used money destined for EU parliamentary aides to pay staff who instead did political work for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. 

The NR was called the National Front at the time.

Ms Le Pen denies any wrongdoing and claims the case is politically driven.

“Parliamentary assistants do not work for the parliament. They are political assistants to elected officials, political by definition,” she argued in her defence. 

"You ask me if I can define the tasks I assigned to my assistants; it depends on each person’s skills. Some wrote speeches for me, and some handled logistics and co-ordination.”

The current leader of NR, Jordan Bardella, who used to work as a parliamentary assistant, is not part of the trial.

If found guilty, Ms Le Pen and her co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to €1 million (£800,000) each.

Additional penalties, such as the loss of civil rights or ineligibility to run for office, could also be imposed, which could destroy Ms Le Pen's goal to mount another presidential bid.