About this Episode
A Paris appeals court upheld Marine Le Pen’s fraud conviction in the European Parliament fake‑jobs case but handed a sentence structured so she could still stand in 2027. The court imposed a 45‑month ban from public office with 30 months suspended and a one‑year house arrest term under electronic monitoring, part of a three‑year detention with two years suspended.
Nigel Farage said he would resign as MP for Clacton and contest the resulting by‑election as a “people versus the establishment” test. He argued the constituency should judge his conduct while facing scrutiny over an undeclared £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne and recent reports of funding links to George Cottrell. Farage denied wrongdoing, attacked mainstream media coverage and was under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner.
A group of MEPs asked national football associations to press FIFA for an investigation into whether President Gianni Infantino bowed to US pressure when FIFA suspended the red‑card ban on US striker Folarin Balogun, after Donald Trump acknowledged calling Infantino; the reversal drew outrage from UEFA and others as unprecedented and potentially politicised, and the European Parliament initiative sought to hold senior FIFA officials accountable if evidence showed breaches of political neutrality.
The European Parliament approved revised air passenger rules keeping free cabin luggage and preserving compensation for delays of three hours or more, with set amounts and a nine‑month window to claim. Airlines must display fares inclusive of carry‑on at booking, may offer cheaper tickets without hand luggage, and the new rules — banning some ancillary fees and improving digital boarding‑pass rights — take effect in 2027.
