Le Pen, convicted of embezzling EU funds by fictitiously employing her party operatives as European Parliament staff, also faces a €100,000 fine. The ban on seeking elected office takes immediate effect, though she will keep her seat in parliament until her term ends.
Le Pen decries “political death”
In a prime-time TV interview on TF1 following the verdict, Le Pen declared her innocence and vowed to appeal “as soon as possible.” She insisted the ruling was a politically motivated ploy to bar her from the presidency:
“Tonight there are millions of French people who are outraged, seeing judges do what we thought only existed in authoritarian regimes,” she said.
Le Pen added that she is “currently out of the running for 2027,” but “will continue to fight” for her political future.
Reactions from allies, critics, judiciary
- Elon Musk, the world’s richest man who has voiced massive support for far-right figures, alleged on social media that Le Pen’s sentence was the effect of a process to “abuse the legal system to jail [political] opponents” orchestrated by a “radical left” which “can’t win via democratic vote”.
- Judge Bénédicte de Perthuis, reading the decision, said Le Pen was “at the heart” of a scheme diverting over €4 million in EU funds for party use and noted the lack of remorse among defendants as grounds for the immediate ban.
- Jordan Bardella, RN’s party president, slammed the decision as the “death of French democracy,” while far-right leaders abroad joined him. Ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, himself barred from office until 2030, called it “left-wing judicial activism.”
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tweeted “Je suis Marine!”
Implications for 2027 election
This was to be Le Pen’s fourth—and final—attempt at the presidency. Appeals in France can take months or years. Should her five-year ban remain intact, the RN will likely turn to 29-year-old Bardella as its standard-bearer in 2027.
Le Pen, however, told TF1 she is “not going to let myself be eliminated like this,” arguing “millions of French people believe in me.”
Political analyst Arnaud Benedetti described the ban as a “seismic event,” predicting it would “reshuffle the pack, particularly on the right.”
Observers say Bardella has energized younger voters, but may struggle to draw broader mainstream support.
EU funds, RN verdict
A total of two dozen RN members were also found guilty of channeling EU Parliament monies for internal party use.
The RN itself must pay a €2 million fine, half of which is suspended.
According to the court, the scheme ran from 2004 to 2016, when party figures posed as parliamentary assistants despite largely working for the party.
(jh)
Source: PAP, Reuters