François Bayrou faces appeal trial over MoDem assistant scandal

The appeal trial of former French Prime Minister François Bayrou and ten former MoDem officials has commenced at the Paris Court of Appeal. The case involves allegations of misappropriating funds through the use of fictitious parliamentary assistants in the European Parliament between 2005 and 2017.

In a previous ruling in early 2024, the MoDem party and several leaders were convicted of misappropriating approximately €300,000, but Bayrou himself was acquitted. The initial court found no evidence that he had specifically ordered the use of fake assistants, despite noting it was probable that certain acts were committed with his authorization. The prosecution has appealed this decision.

Bayrou has maintained his innocence, stating, “All these accusations, we will prove, are baseless.” The proceedings follow a similar legal precedent involving Marine Le Pen and the National Rally, though the scale of the alleged embezzlement in the MoDem case is significantly smaller than the €3 million involved in the Le Pen affair.