A French court has banned far-right leader Marine Le Pen from holding public office for five years with immediate effect after finding her guilty of misusing EU funds through a fake jobs scam. The verdict rules out her running in the 2027 presidential race, unless she successfully appeals beforehand.
The Paris court ruled on Monday that Marine Le Pen, who leads the far-right National Rally (RN) parliamentary group and eight other RN MEPs were guilty of embezzling EU funds to pay France-based party staff.
She and her fellow lawmakers are banned from running for office with immediate effect, even if an appeal is lodged.
The judge also gave Le Pen a four-year prison sentence with two suspended. The other two years will be served under home detention. She also received a 100,000-euro fine.
Twelve parliamentary assistants were also convicted of concealing a crime, with the court estimating the scheme was worth €2.9 million.
Le Pen, 56, left the courtroom before the sentencing was announced.
During the trial late last year, Le Pen, the RN and 23 party figures were accused of diverting European Parliament funds to pay staff during the period 2004 to 2016 when the party was known as the National Front (FN).
Le Pen has always denied the accusations and is likely to appeal. Neither the prison sentence nor the fine will be applied until her appeals are exhausted.
But the five-year ban from running for office kicks in immediately via a so-called "provisional execution" measure requested by prosecutors. It will be lifted only if any appeal is upheld before the 2027 election.
Presiding judge Bénédicte de Perthuis said on Monday that Le Pen and other defendants deserved an immediate ban from office.
"The court took into consideration, in addition to the risk of reoffending, the major disturbance of public order if a person already convicted... was a candidate in the presidential election," she said.
Le Pen has yet to comment on the ruling but RN president Jordan Bardella said: "Today it is not only Marine Le Pen who was unjustly condemned, French democracy was killed."
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'Political death'
Monday's verdict is a major setback for Le Pen. The 56-year-old has twice made it to the presidential run-off and opinion polls suggest she is a strong contender to become France's next president.
She has accused prosecutors of seeking her "political death", alleging a plot to keep the National Rally from power that echoes claims made by US President Donald Trump about his legal woes.
The defendants say the money was used legitimately and the allegations define too narrowly what a parliamentary assistant does.
However, de Perthuis said the nine lawmakers and 12 assistants found guilty signed "fictitious contracts" and there was indeed a "system" within the party, with Le Pen "at the heart of this system since 2009". The judge also said there had been "no personal enrichment”.
Le Pen retains her parliamentary seat until the end of her mandate.
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She renamed the National Front party, co-founded by her late father Jean-Marie Le Pen, as RN in 2018 – steering it away from its anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi roots and transforming it into the largest single party in France's parliament.
Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister and head of the far-right League, strongly criticised the French ruling.
"People who are afraid of the judgment of the voters are often reassured by the judgment of the courts," he said. "In Paris they have condemned Marine Le Pen and would like to exclude her from political life."
Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders also voiced his dismay over the ruling.
"I am shocked by the incredibly tough verdict against (Le Pen). I support and believe in her for the full 100 percent and I trust she will win the appeal and become President of France," Wilders posted in English on X.
Meanwhile Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov insisted "more and more European capitals are going down the path of violating democratic norms".
