Marine Le Pen barred from running for French presidency in 2027
Far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement of European funds and immediately barred from running for office
The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for president in 2027 after a court found her guilty of a vast system of embezzlement of European parliament funds and banned her from running for public office with immediate effect.
The decision was a political earthquake for Le Pen, the leader of the far-right anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party, who had hoped to mount a fourth campaign to become president.
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French Embezzlement Ruling |
Marine Le Pen, a leader of France's nationalist-populist National Rally party, was convicted yesterday of embezzling millions in European Union funds. A Paris court sentenced the 56-year-old to four years in prison—two years under house arrest and two years suspended—and imposed an approximately $108K fine. She was also barred from holding public office for five years, effective immediately, likely disqualifying her from the 2027 presidential election.
The court found Le Pen and 24 other party officials misappropriated roughly $4.8M in funds intended for EU parliamentary aides, instead diverting the money to fictitious assistants to pay party staff between 2004 and 2016, violating EU regulations. National Rally was fined more than $2.1M for its role.
Le Pen, who was the runner-up in France's 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, plans to appeal the ruling, though a final decision before the next election is unlikely. Her political protégé, Jordan Bardella, is expected to replace Le Pen on the ballot in the 2027 election. |
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