The sentence was delivered after the French far-right icon was found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds.
Marine Le Pen’s plans to run for the French presidency in 2027 were dealt a likely fatal blow Monday after she was found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds and deemed ineligible to stand in elections for the next five years.
Given surging support for her far-right National Rally party, 2027 had widely been seen as a potential breakthrough moment for her populist anti-migration agenda, and several polls put her as a strong contender to succeed Emmanuel Macron in the Elysée Palace.
The decision would appear to open the door for Jordan Bardella, the National Rally president and Le Pen’s heir-apparent, to become the flag-bearer for the far right and run for the presidency.
Le Pen and 24 other codefendants were accused of illicitly siphoning European Parliament funds to pay for party employees who seldom or never dealt with affairs in Brussels or Strasbourg. The court estimated that the accused had over 12 years embezzled more than €4 million, €474,000 of which Le Pen was held personally responsible for as an MEP.
All but one of them, an accountant, were found guilty and handed a mix of fines, ineligibility bans and suspended prison sentences. The National Rally party was also found guilty and handed a €2 million fine, though that can be reduced by €1 million if it does not repeat the crime.
The harshest punishment was reserved for Le Pen, as she was convicted of criminal activity both as a former MEP and then running it as party’s ex-president.
Prosecutors took the extraordinary step of asking the three-judge panel presiding over the case to immediately enact Le Pen’s ban on running for office rather than wait until the appeals process has concluded, which is the norm in France.
The judges agreed, citing the gravity of Le Pen’s crime. They also fined her €100,000 and sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were suspended — but those penalties could be delayed by a possible appeal.
“Today, it’s not just Marine Le Pen who is unfairly condemned: It’s French democracy that is being executed,” said Bardella.
Bardella and other far-right figures in France and across Europe were quick to condemn the verdict. Some, like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, even weighed in before Le Pen’s sentence was announced. The Kremlin deplored a “violation of democratic norms” and Italy’s far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini condemned the verdict as a “a bad film” and a “declaration of war by Brussels.”
Le Pen’s lawyer told reporters she would appeal the verdict.
The defendants repeatedly professed their innocence over the course of the four-month-long trial, but the prosecution presented damning evidence against them — including text messages from one parliamentary assistant who, months after being hired, asked to be introduced to the MEP he was supposedly working for.
Le Pen and the National Rally knew the trial would be a thorn in their side but were relatively sanguine about the process. And the allegations, for now, have done little to affect either Le Pen or the National Rally’s popularity.
The defendants were, however, taken aback when prosecutors in November asked that immediate ineligibility bans of various lengths be handed to all of the defendants.
If Le Pen is unable to successfully appeal the verdict before the next presidential election, the National Rally is likely to look to Bardella, the party’s loyal 29-year-old president, to step in.
Indeed, in a possible prediction of her own departure from the scene, she told the BFMTV network just before the sentence that Bardella had “the capacity to be president of the Republic.”
And while the future of populist nationalism in France has rarely looked brighter than it does today, Bardella’s lack of experience during a high-profile presidential campaign has fueled skepticism — even within his own ranks — about whether he is up to the task.
Also read: French far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen dies at 96
Featured photo source: The Independent
Source: Politico.eu
