France’s Le Pen sentenced to 4 years, barred from office after embezzlement conviction
The decision, which comes into force with immediate effect, prevents Le Pen from running for president in 2027
A French court on Monday barred Marine Le Pen from seeking public office for five years, with immediate effect, for embezzlement – a hammer blow to the far-right leader’s presidential hopes.
The judge also gave Le Pen a four-year prison sentence – two years of which are suspended sentence and two of which will be served under home detention. She also received a €100,000 (US$108,200) fine.
Le Pen will appeal the verdict, her lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut said on Monday, but such a move won’t suspend her ineligibility – which could rule her out of the 2027 presidential race.
Le Pen left the high-rise Paris courthouse without stopping to speak to reporters and climbed into a car that drove her away.
Earlier on Monday, from the front row of the court, Le Pen showed no immediate reaction when the judge declared her guilty. But she grew more agitated as the proceedings continued. She repeatedly nodded her head in disagreement as the judge went into greater detail with the verdict, saying Le Pen’s party had illegally used more than €4 million (US$4.33 million) of European Parliament money for its own benefit. “Incredible,” she whispered at one point.
The judge also handed down guilty verdicts to eight other current or former members of her party who, like her, previously served as European Parliament lawmakers.