Prosecutors in Marseille have sought harsh penalties against Yann Bompard, mayor of Orange, and RN deputy Marie-France Lorho in a fictitious employment case. Bompard faces five years of ineligibility for receiving diverted public funds. The court will deliver its verdict on January 26.
Marseille's correctional court heard on December 18 the case involving Yann Bompard, the far-right mayor of Orange in Vaucluse, and Marie-France Lorho, Rassemblement National (RN) deputy for the 4th district of Vaucluse. Bompard is accused of benefiting from a fictitious job as a parliamentary collaborator for Lorho, from November 2021 to February 2023. This position reportedly earned him around 75,000 euros gross and 43,000 euros net, per National Assembly figures.
Prosecutors sought against Bompard two years of suspended prison, a 15,000-euro fine, the confiscation of 8,000 euros seized from his bank account, and five years of ineligibility with immediate enforcement. This could bar him from running for a second term in the ongoing municipal election campaign.
Marie-France Lorho, former first deputy and substitute for Jacques Bompard – Yann's father, who handed over his Assembly seat in 2017 to avoid holding multiple offices –, faces charges of diverting public funds and suborning a witness. Penalties requested against her include 18 months of suspended prison and a 10,000-euro fine.
The case unfolds amid tense politics for Vaucluse's far right, highlighted by family and professional ties within the RN. The ruling is set for January 26, a date that could reshape local electoral prospects.
