Former French PM François Bayrou faces appeal trial in European Parliament funds case
François Bayrou expressed relief at "the end of a seven-year nightmare" when he was acquitted on February 5, 2024, of charges related to misappropriating public funds at the European Parliament. However, the centrist politician's legal troubles are far from over. Starting Wednesday, September 9, 2026, he faces an appeal trial in Paris scheduled to last until October 5, involving 13 defendants including himself and two political parties he led.
The 75-year-old, who served as France's prime minister from December 13, 2024, until his government fell in a confidence vote on September 8, 2025, stands accused alongside 10 other defendants and the two parties—Union for French Democracy (UDF) and Democratic Movement (MoDem)—of fraudulently hiring parliamentary assistants who were paid by the European Parliament but actually worked for the party.
The case covers six assistants, 10 contracts, and €293,253 in allegedly misappropriated funds from the European Parliament during the period from 2005 to 2017. This was a time when Bayrou first presided over the UDF before founding MoDem in 2007, a party he has led ever since.
Split verdict in first trial
The appeal follows a complex first-instance verdict that saw eight other defendants, including five former Members of the European Parliament, found guilty and sentenced to prison terms ranging from ten to eighteen months. However, the court acquitted Bayrou, ruling there was no evidence he personally instructed MEPs to fictitiously employ parliamentary assistants. The judges granted him the benefit of the doubt despite finding that a fraudulent system did exist within the parties.
Both sides appealed the February 2024 ruling. Prosecutors contested the acquittals of Bayrou and two others, while the convicted defendants also appealed their sentences, resulting in a full retrial on appeal.
Political impact of long-running case
The investigation has shadowed Bayrou's political career for years. In June 2017, just one month after President Emmanuel Macron appointed him Justice Minister, he resigned when prosecutors opened the investigation into the misuse of European Parliament funds.
Despite this setback, Bayrou remained a significant political figure. Mayor of Pau since 2014, he has run for president three times (2002, 2007, and 2012) and has presided over the European Democratic Party since 2004. His appointment as prime minister in December 2024 made him France's fourth prime minister in a single year and the sixth of Macron's presidency, reflecting the political instability that has gripped France. His tenure lasted nine months before his government was toppled in a confidence vote.
Parallels with Marine Le Pen case
The charges against Bayrou closely resemble those in the higher-profile case of far-right leader Marine Le Pen and her National Rally party, though on a considerably smaller scale. Le Pen was convicted in March 2025 of misusing over €4.4 million in European Parliament funds through approximately 40 contracts between 2004 and 2016. She received a four-year prison sentence, with two years to be served under house arrest with electronic monitoring and two years suspended, along with a €100,000 fine and a five-year ban from holding public office.
Le Pen's appeal trial took place from January 13 to February 12, 2026. In July 2026, the appeals court upheld her conviction but modified the sentence to allow her to run in the 2027 presidential election, though details of the final ruling remain subject to ongoing legal proceedings.
For Bayrou, the appeal trial represents another chapter in what he once called a nightmare. The outcome will determine not only his legal fate but potentially his ability to continue in political life, as he faces the same charges that have ensnared other prominent French politicians in recent years.
