It has been an eventful summer in French politics — and the drama is going nowhere. National Rally (RN) President Jordan Bardella has been accused of creating false documents to escape embezzlement charges from a brief job he had as a parliamentary assistant to a former MEP.

In 2015, when the RN was in its previous iteration as the National Front (FN) Bardella worked as a parliamentary assistant to former MEP Jean-François Jalkh. During this time, however, it is alleged by the French daily newspaper Libération that he was working for the party — not Jalkh — while receiving a wage from the European Parliament. The RN told Euractiv: “Jordan Bardella formally denies the false accusations contained in the Libération article.”

On 30 September, there will be a trial involving 27 party leaders, including Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen, on charges of embezzlement. If found guilty, they could face fines of up to €1 million and 10 years in prison. Never a dull moment in French politics…