French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was banned from running for public office with immediate effect on Monday after a court found her guilty of misappropriating European Union funds.
The ban will last for five years, as demanded by prosecutors. She has also been handed a four-year prison sentence to be served with an electronic tag.
Le Pen said ahead of the verdict that a guilty ruling could lead to her “political death.”
The court ruled that Le Pen and her National Rally party (RN) misused €3 million ($3.25 million) in European Parliament funds meant for parliamentary assistants.
Prosecutors alleged that the money in question was used to pay France-based party staff between 2004 and 2016, violating EU rules.
Le Pen, 56, denied any wrongdoing, calling the case a political attack aimed at ending her career.
“There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent,” said Le Pen ahead of the ruling on Monday. She also claimed that the case against her would mean “potentially millions of French people seeing themselves deprived of their candidate in the election.”
She left the court dramatically before anything was said about the duration of the ban.
Le Pen’s political future
Prosecutors asked that Le Pen face an immediate five-year ban from public office if found guilty, regardless of any appeal process.
This could prevent her from running in the 2027 presidential election, where she is a leading contender. An appeal would trigger a retrial, likely in 2026, just months before the vote.
Le Pen’s party said the trial is a judicial overreach, similar to what US President Donald Trump had said about his legal troubles in the past.
“With provisional execution, the judges have the power of life or death over our movement,” she said. “But I don’t think they’ll go that far.”
Some of her rivals, including Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, have expressed concern over courts deciding who can run for office.
RN president Jordan Bardella, 29, has been tipped as a potential replacement for Le Pen at the 2027 presidential election. He, however, is not expected to match her electoral appeal.
The judge on Monday also handed down guilty verdicts to eight other members of her party who, like Le Pen, served as lawmakers in the European Parliament.
Twelve parliamentary assistants were also found guilty. (DW)