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.

It’s my political death they want,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen claimed in November – a prediction that proved prescient, though few took it seriously at the time.