Far-right leader Marine Le Pen was sentenced to prison and barred from running for office after being found guilty of defrauding the European Union.
Le Pen used more than 3 million euros ($3.3 million) to pay her National Rally party members, according to the Paris court ruling.
The chief judge’s ruling in sentencing stipulated that the nationalist politician would be barred from running for office for five years as of the moment. Additionally, a four-year prison term was set for the RN, who was also fined $2.16 million.
The court considered whether a person who had already been found guilty of a crime or not, as well as the possibility of reoffending, when a candidate ran for president, according to presiding judge Benedicte de Perthuis.
According to opinion polls, the ruling threatens to force Le Pen to withdraw from the 2027 presidential race, where she is currently the frontrunner.
Prosecutors had accused the nationalist leader of seeking her “political death.” She is expected to challenge the decision, which could lead to a contentious legal argument.
Before the sentencing was over, she strode out of the court and fled.
a striking far-right face?
The French far right’s prospects and landscape would change if Marine Le Pen were to lose, according to Natacha Butler of Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler in Paris courtroom. Jordan Bardella, the current RN president, is most likely to succeed her.
She continued, “But he is much younger and not the same kind of dominant force as Marine Le Pen.” Some claim that he would likely find the 2027 race more difficult because he is not the figure that so many people in France are familiar with.
Some claim that “a fresh face may be what’s needed.”
Additionally, 12 parliamentary assistants, eight other RN members who were formerly elected as members of the European Parliament when the funds were defunded, and eight others who received wrongful verdicts were sentenced to a number of years in prison.
Nationalists quickly reacted in support of the RN leader.
According to Bardella, the “unjust” verdict had “executed” French democracy.
Eric Zemmour, Le Pen’s radical right rival, criticized the sentence and argued that the RN leader had the right to speak up to the electorate.
Despite Moscow’s frequently urging other nations to not interfere with their own internal affairs, the Kremlin also criticized the decision.
According to spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “more and more European capitals are going down the path of violating democratic norms.”
Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, who portrays himself as a leader of “patriotic” EU states, expressed support for Le Pen by writing: Je suis Marine! on X .
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