Le Pen had for months protested innocence and framed the case in opposition to her as politically motivated, however her feedback and stoic habits Tuesday differed markedly from the combative face she wore at the beginning of the preliminary trial in 2024.
When the choose requested Le Pen why she was interesting, she insisted that any felony act they could have dedicated had not been intentional — a departure from her impassioned claims of innocence all through the preliminary trial.
“I want to say to the court docket proper now that if a criminal offense has been dedicated … so be it, however I need the court docket to know that we by no means felt like we had dedicated even the slightest offense,” she mentioned.
Le Pen dodged questions from reporters as she arrived and left court docket. She additionally declined to speak informally with the press throughout recesses, as grew to become customary within the first trial.
In a uncommon pre-trial assertion, Le Pen advised reporters Monday that her “solely line of protection for this attraction would be the similar because it was through the preliminary trial: telling the reality.”
“The case might be reset and judged by new magistrates. I hope to be higher heard and to persuade them of my innocence,” she mentioned.
