French right-wing politician Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement charges in a Paris court on Monday and was handed a sentence that will bar her from the country’s 2027 presidential election.
Le Pen and top officials in the National Rally party were accused of using funds intended for European Union parliamentary aides to pay for staffers who did political work. The politician and her party have denied any wrongdoing throughout the trial, which began last year.
After being found guilty in the criminal court, Le Pen was barred from running for office for five years and sentenced to four years in prison, and she was fined 100,000 euros. However, half of her four-year prison sentence was suspended, so she will serve the other two years by using an ankle monitor or another alternative to jail time. An appeal by Le Pen would put the prison sentencing on hold, but the ban on her running for office would be maintained unless she received a favorable ruling.
“Today, it is not only Marine Le Pen who is being unjustly condemned: It is French democracy that is being executed,” Jordan Bardella, who replaced Le Pen as president of National Rally in 2022, wrote in response to the ruling.
Le Pen was the runner-up in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, losing to French President Emmanuel Macron. Her right-wing party has received increasing support in the past decade. Macron, who is term-limited, cannot seek an additional term in the 2027 election.
Opinion polling for the 2027 presidential race has consistently shown Le Pen leading the wide field of candidates. Monday’s ruling throws her ability to run into jeopardy, with another candidate likely having to lead the party’s presidential aspirations in two years.
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In last year’s parliamentary elections, National Rally saw significant gains despite strategic withdrawals from centrist and left-wing candidates, which led to the left-wing coalition winning the most seats. The lack of a clear governing majority has led to instability in the parliament, including four different prime ministers in 2024.
The next presidential election in France is expected in April 2027, with a second round in the following weeks if no candidate can get a majority of the votes.
