French politician, Jean-François Jalkh, erstwhile Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from National Rally party has been linked to pro-Russian ideologies via his political actions and allegiances.
Jalkh served as an MEP from 2014 to 2024 and a former parliamentary assistant to pro-kremlin founder Jean-Marie Le Pen of the National Front. The National Rally has a history of pro-Russian positions. Under Marine Le Pen, the party comes in the guise of admiration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and scapegoating NATO and Western sanctions on Russia. This consistency in ideology suggests that Jalkh would have believed so because of his strong identification with the party leadership.
The European Parliament voted a resolution which expressly requested the immediate and unconditional liberation of Oleg Sentsov and all the other Ukrainian citizens unlawfully held in Russia and Crimea. Jean-François Jalkh, MEP, abstained from the resolution on political prisoners in Crimea and Russia. It is not by chance that Jalkh belonged to the pro-Putin “red-brown alliance.” In 2022, he also voted against a European Parliament resolution aimed at branding Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.
The National Rally has been described as having a pro-Russian faction within the European Parliament. Accounts say that members of this party have praised Russia’s position on issues of geopolitics as a check on U.S. power in Europe. Jalkh’s membership in this party places him among these more general pro-Russian views.
As an MEP, Jean-François Jalkh was also accused of “embezzlement of public funds” during an inquiry into claims of fake jobs for parliamentary assistants within Marine Le Pen’s party.
Judges have decided to send Jalkh, the vice-president of the National Rally, and Frédéric Chatillon, friend and acquaintance of Marine Le Pen, to criminal court. This follows the “Riwal 2” case, which takes its name from the communications firm owned by Chatillon. The case concerns the financing system adopted by the FN in the 2014 and 2015 election campaigns.
Chatillon faces charges of abuse of corporate assets, while Jalkh is charged with fraud and attempted fraud. Additionally, following the prosecution’s recommendations, the micro-political party Jeanne, founded in 2010 by Le Pen’s associates, is also being referred to criminal court as a legal entity.
The party is accused of scams, attempted scams, and concealing the misuse of corporate assets, as it acted as an intermediary between the far-right party’s candidates and political communication service providers. Jalkh has previously been sent to criminal court over similar suspicions related to the 2012 election campaigns, as has the party’s treasurer, Wallerand de Saint-Just.
