Marine Le Pen convicted on embezzlement charges in France
French politician Marine Le Pen and eight other members of her right-wing party have been found guilty of embezzling public funds, with Le Pen herself being barred from running for public office. The French court did not immediately announce the length of Le Pen’s ineligibility for office, leading her to storm out of the courtroom before her sentence was completed. Le Pen, a top candidate for the 2027 presidential election, has expressed that being prohibited from running would be a “political death” for her.
Le Pen has argued that such a sentence would not only disenfranchise her voters but also impact the millions who support her National Rally party. Coming in second place to President Emmanuel Macron in both the 2017 and 2022 elections, Le Pen’s party has seen a significant increase in support in recent years.
The case against Le Pen revolves around the misappropriation of funds from the European Parliament to support various aspects of the National Rally party. Prosecutors presented evidence that EU parliament funds were used to pay for Le Pen’s personal bodyguard and assistant, leading to the conviction of Le Pen and the other defendants for similar misuses of funding. Prosecutors sought a 2-year prison sentence and a 5-year period of political ineligibility for Le Pen.
Le Pen expressed her belief that the prosecutors were solely focused on preventing her from running for president in the future. Her court ruling comes at a time when Macron is facing challenges in dealing with the return of President Donald Trump in the U.S., leading to tensions between Europe and the U.S. over economic policies and the defense of Ukraine.
Last week, the Trump administration announced negotiations with Ukraine and Russia, claiming that both nations had agreed to “eliminate the use of force” in the Black Sea. However, the Kremlin later clarified that this agreement was contingent on the removal of international economic restrictions. Macron responded by asserting that Russia would have no say in the support provided to Ukraine and rejected Trump’s suggestion for Europe to consider lifting sanctions on Moscow.
As the political landscape in France continues to evolve, the outcome of Le Pen’s case and her subsequent political ineligibility could have far-reaching implications for the country’s future leadership. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
