Former Socialist Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux was sentenced on Thursday by the Paris Criminal Court to a two-year suspended prison sentence and a €70,000 fine for misappropriation of public funds. He also received a further five-year ban from holding public office and will have to pay nearly €159,929 to the National Assembly for material damages.
He was accused of employing his two daughters as fictitious parliamentary assistants between 2009 and 2017, when he was a member of parliament for Seine-Saint-Denis, as well as of misusing his parliamentary expense allowance. The investigation was opened in 2017 by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office following media revelations.
Jobs deemed "completely fictitious"
In its judgment, the court considered that the jobs of Bruno Le Roux's two daughters were "totally fictitious", noting a discrepancy between the declared duties and the services actually performed, with the remuneration deemed to be without real compensation.
Regarding the use of his expense allowance, the judges also found his explanations unconvincing. Following the ruling, Bruno Le Roux indicated that he intended to appeal.
