France Le Pen can no longer stand in elections with immediate effect
French right-wing nationalist politician Marine Le Pen will in all likelihood not be able to run in the 2027 presidential election. Following a conviction for embezzlement of funds through the fictitious employment of staff in the European Parliament, the court in Paris imposed the penalty of ineligibility for political office for a period of five years with immediate effect.
31.03.2025, 12:46
31.03.2025, 13:26
SDA
In addition, the court sentenced the 56-year-old to two years in prison with an ankle monitor. A further two years' imprisonment were suspended on probation. A fine of 100,000 euros was also imposed. The politician left the courtroom before the presiding judge announced the full verdict and sentence against Le Pen.
The verdict can be appealed. However, it is generally considered unlikely that an appeal process would lead to a quick result.
Delicate verdict
The outcome of the trial is a disaster for the right-wing party and Le Pen's political ambitions. The temporary loss of the right to stand for election is a common punishment in France when politicians are convicted of corruption and embezzlement. Nevertheless, it is considered sensitive due to Le Pen's great popularity - even moderate politicians had expressed concerns as it could fuel the narrative that the verdict was politically motivated to prevent Le Pen from becoming president.
Le Pen's appeal is expected
"It is my political death that is being demanded with provisional execution, and that is, I believe, the aim of this operation from the outset," Le Pen had responded to the prosecution's demand that her ineligibility for political office be implemented provisionally and immediately before the verdict becomes final.
Irrespective of this, Le Pen is expected to appeal against the verdict and face a long road through the courts. Until the end of the parliamentary term, however, Le Pen can continue to sit as a member of parliament, where she is leader of the parliamentary group.
The central allegation in the trial was that Le Pen's Rassemblement National party had received money from the European Parliament for parliamentary assistants who had worked for the party in part or in full. The affair had been weighing on Le Pen and her party for years.
Rassemblement National stronger than ever
The debacle in court has hit the right-wing nationalist party in France at an inopportune moment, as it has been steadily gaining ground for some time and is now more strongly represented in parliament than ever before. The far-right Front National, founded by her recently deceased father Jean-Marie, renamed Marine Le Pen Rassemblement National in 2018 and renounced overly radical positions in order to make it electable among broader sections of the population.
The previous plan had been that if Le Pen had won the presidential election and her party had won the subsequent parliamentary election, RN leader Jordan Bardella (29) would have become prime minister. It is not yet known whether Bardella now intends to run for president.
Le Pen has always rejected accusations
Le Pen has always denied the accusations in the affair surrounding the possible bogus employment of EU employees. "I do not feel that I have committed the slightest irregularity, the slightest illegality," she said during the trial. Along with her, eight other members of her party in the European Parliament were found guilty, as well as 12 parliamentary assistants. At issue was the possible fictitious employment of assistants by several French MEPs.
