French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for political office for five years after being found guilty of embezzling European Union funds.
This politically explosive ruling has dashed her hopes of winning the presidency in 2027.
A Paris court also sentenced Le Pen, who was the frontrunner for the upcoming election, to a four-year prison sentence with two years suspended, to be served under house arrest, and imposed a €100,000 ($108,000) fine. Her lawyer indicated that Le Pen plans to appeal the decision.
Her party, the National Rally (RN), was ordered to pay €2 million in fines for the €4.1 million that it was accused of embezzling.
The court’s presiding judge, Bénédicte de Perthuis, condemned Le Pen’s actions as a “serious and lasting attack on the rules of democratic life in Europe, particularly in France.” She emphasized that Le Pen’s immediate ban on standing for office was a consequence of “democratic public unrest” that would arise from electing a person convicted of embezzlement.
However, the decision itself is likely to provoke significant unrest. Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s protégé and the current president of the RN, argued that Le Pen was being unjustly condemned, and that French democracy itself was being executed.
Marion Maréchal, Le Pen’s niece and a member of the European Parliament for a rival far-right party, defended her aunt, stating that she had “led our side on the path to victory. This is her sole guilt, and that is why she is condemned.”
Despite her calm and composed demeanor as she entered the court on Monday, greeting supporters, Le Pen grew increasingly agitated as the court president spent over an hour detailing the embezzlement scheme.
The presiding judge emphasized the importance of seeking a social consensus in this criminal case, stating, “The question therefore arises in a singular way in this criminal case which makes its decision ‘in the name of the French people.’ The court must not ignore the requirement to seek a social consensus.”
Le Pen and Bardella speak during a National Rally meeting in Paris in September 2024. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
De Perthuis explained that her fellow judges carefully considered the “two risks” involved in their sentencing: the potential for a convicted embezzler to be elected for political office and the significant risk to public order if a likely presidential candidate were barred from running.
Le Pen exited the courthouse after being invited to hear her full sentencing, but she declined to answer questions from journalists upon arriving at her party’s headquarters in Paris.
This conviction is a significant blow to the Fifth Republic. Le Pen, her National Rally (RN) party, and over 20 of its members were found guilty of misusing European Parliament funds to pay staff who were actually working for the RN in France. Nine members of the European Parliament, including Le Pen, and 12 assistants were among those convicted.
The court ruled that Le Pen had employed four party employees as parliamentary assistants, including her personal assistant and bodyguard, and misappropriated European Union funds for her own political party.
Over a period of more than 11 years, Le Pen and her colleagues embezzled an amount exceeding €4 million.
This decision has effectively thwarted Le Pen’s aspirations to win the Élysée Palace for the fourth time in 2027, when President Emmanuel Macron will be unable to seek a third consecutive term.
Le Pen had been the frontrunner to succeed Macron as French president in 2027. Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images
Le Pen vehemently denounced the case against her as a “witchhunt,” echoing the language used by US President Donald Trump against legal proceedings targeting them.
Her right-wing European allies swiftly rallied to her defense after the conviction.
“Je suis Marine,” Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister and a staunch advocate of socially conservative politics in Europe, expressed on X following the conviction. In contrast, Italian far-right leader Matteo Salvini vehemently criticized the decision.
The Trump administration has also expressed its opposition to perceived attacks on far-right politicians in Europe, including a court decision to re-run the Romanian presidential election, which resulted in a surprising victory for a far-right candidate.
Administration officials, particularly US Vice President JD Vance, have publicly supported far-right groups in Europe, notably the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Germany.
Shortly after Le Pen’s sentencing commenced, the Kremlin asserted that her conviction demonstrated Europe’s disregard for democratic principles.
Even former Macron ministers expressed their opposition to the possibility of her losing the right to run for office during her trial.
In November, current French Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin expressed his profound shock if Le Pen were to be barred from participating in elections on X.
Le Pen’s conviction is part of a series of financial irregularities committed by prominent French politicians. Former President Nicolas Sarkozy is currently awaiting sentencing for corruption and influence peddling.
Sarkozy had already been convicted in 2021 of corruption and influence peddling, resulting in a three-year prison sentence, with two years suspended. Although he did not serve prison time, he was required to wear a GPS-tracking ankle bracelet.
