Le Pen, the RN and two dozen party figures were accused of diverting more than 4 million Euros ($4.33 million) of European Parliament funds to pay France-based staff. They had argued the money was used legitimately and that the allegations had defined too narrowly what a parliamentary assistant does.

PARIS (AP) — For years, Marine Le Pen stood at the gates of power — poised, relentless and rising. She stripped the French far right of its old symbols, sanded down its roughest edges and built in its place a sleek, disciplined machine with the single goal of winning the country’s presidency.