{"id":3725,"date":"2025-04-01T11:08:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-01T15:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3725"},"modified":"2025-04-01T11:08:22","modified_gmt":"2025-04-01T15:08:22","slug":"french-far-right-leader-marine-le-pen-barred-from-seeking-office-for-5-years-a-political-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viewworld.org\/?p=3725","title":{"rendered":"French far-right leader Marine Le Pen barred from seeking office for 5 years, a political earthquake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PARIS (AP) \u2014 A French court on Monday convicted Marine Le Pen<\/a> of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years \u2014 a hammer blow<\/a> to the far-right leader\u2019s presidential hopes and an earthquake for French politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Pen denounced the verdict in an interview with French TV channel TF1 as a \u201cpolitical\u201d move aimed at preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election and said that millions of French people \u201care outraged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She described the ruling as a violation of the rule of law, said she would appeal and asked that the court proceedings take place before the 2027 campaign. She would remain ineligible to be a candidate until the appeal is decided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Pen also was given four years\u2019 imprisonment, with two to be served under house arrest and two suspended – which would not apply pending appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major political implications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The court ruling was a political as well as a judicial temblor for France, hobbling one of the leading contenders to succeed President Emmanuel Macron at the end of his second and final term. So broad were the political implications that even some of Le Pen\u2019s opponents said the Paris court had gone too far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it\u2019s too early to say how the case will affect voters. The potential elimination of Le Pen could fire up diehard supporters, just as U.S. President\u2019s Donald Trump\u2019s legal problems motivated some of his. But it could also leave her on the sidelines, deflating what had been her upward trajectory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Pen said the court should not have made her ineligible to run for office until all her chances at appeal had been exhausted, and that by doing so it was clear the court was aiming \u201cspecifically to prevent\u201d her from being elected president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf that\u2019s not a political decision, I don\u2019t know what is,\u201d Le Pen said in the TF1 interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the ruling marked a \u201cfateful day for our democracy\u201d but vowed to keep pursuing what she called the now \u201cadmittedly narrow\u201d path to the presidency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are millions of French people who believe in me, millions of French people who trust me,\u201d she added: \u201cFor 30 years I\u2019ve been fighting for you, and for 30 years I\u2019ve been fighting against injustice, so I\u2019m going to continue fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Pen left the court before the sentencing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Le Pen herself was not around to hear the chief judge pronounce the sentence that threw her career into a tailspin. By then, the 56-year-old politician had already strode out of the courtroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her supporters quickly expressed their disapproval of the verdict. Jordan Bardella, her 29-year-old prot\u00e9g\u00e9 who could replace her on the ballot in 2027 if she cannot run, said on X that Le Pen was \u201cbeing unjustly condemned\u201d and that French democracy was \u201cbeing executed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hungary\u2019s populist prime minister, Viktor Orb\u00e1n, quickly took to social media to express his support, posting \u201cJe suis Marine!\u201d \u2014 I am Marine \u2014 on X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among political opponents of Le Pen who expressed unease was conservative lawmaker Laurent Wauquiez, who said the verdict put \u201ca very heavy weight on our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018A political death\u2019 scenario<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The sentence could prevent Le Pen from making what would have been her fourth run for the presidency in 2027, a scenario she has previously described as a \u201cpolitical death.\u201d The party\u2019s most recognized figurehead and a formidable campaigner, Le Pen was runner-up to Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her party\u2019s electoral support has grown<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only an appellate ruling that overturns the ban on public office could restore her hopes of running. But with the election just two years away, time is running out. There\u2019s no guarantee that an appeals court would rule more favorably, and appeals in France can take several years to conclude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verdict was a resounding defeat for Le Pen\u2019s National Rally party, formerly the National Front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She and 24 other party officials were accused of having used money<\/a> intended for European Union parliamentary aides to instead pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, violating the 27-nation bloc\u2019s regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A \u201csystem\u201d to siphon off EU money<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The judge handed down guilty verdicts to eight other current or former members of her party who, like Le Pen, previously served as European Parliament lawmakers. Also convicted were 12 people who served as parliamentary aides and three others. Only one defendant was acquitted. All had denied wrongdoing during the nine-week trial that took place in late 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief judge said Le Pen had been at the heart of \u201ca system\u201d that her party used to siphon off EU parliament funds, though she said they didn\u2019t enrich themselves personally. The ruling described the embezzlement as \u201ca democratic bypass\u201d that deceived the parliament and voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the front row of the court, Le Pen<\/a> showed no immediate reaction when the judge first declared her guilty. But she grew more agitated as the verdict was delivered in greater detail. She shook her head in disagreement as the judge said Le Pen\u2019s party illegally used European funds for its own benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIncredible,\u201d she whispered at one point. She then left without warning, picking up her bag and striding out, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. The abrupt departure left many in the courtroom in disbelief as they turned their heads toward the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The electoral ineligibility takes effect immediately, but the house arrest is suspended while she appeals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Pen also serves as a lawmaker in France\u2019s National Assembly, a role not affected by the ineligibility ruling that she can keep for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if Macron dissolves parliament again, as he did last year, and calls early legislative elections, she would be barred from running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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