Marine Le Pen has been found guilty by a French court in an embezzlement case. The right-winger was convicted of misappropriating EU money to pay for party staff while serving as an MEP.
Ms Le Pen, 56, and 24 other officials from her National Rally party were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. Ms Le Pen and her co-defendants denyied wrongdoing. The biggest concern for Le Pen is that the court may declare her ineligible to run for office “with immediate effect” — even if she appeals.
The Constitutional Council ruled Friday, in a separate case, that imposing the punishment immediately was constitutional.
During the nine-week trial that took place in late 2024, she argued that ineligibility “would have the effect of depriving me of being a presidential candidate” and disenfranchise her supporters.
She told the panel of three judges: “There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would see themselves deprived of their candidate in the election.”
If she cannot run in 2027, her seeming natural successor would be Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 29-year-old protégé who succeeded her at the helm of the party in 2021.
Ms Le Pen denied accusations she was at the head of “a system” meant to siphon off EU parliament money to benefit her party, which she led from 2011 to 2021.
She argued instead that it was acceptable to adapt the work of the aides paid by the European Parliament to the needs of the lawmakers, including some highly political work related to the party, which was called the National Front at the time.
While testifying, Le Pen told the court: “I absolutely don’t feel I have committed the slightest irregularity, the slightest illegal move.”
Hearings showed that some EU money was used to pay for Le Pen’s bodyguard — who was once her father’s bodyguard — as well as her personal assistant.
Prosecutors asked the court to declare Le Pen guilty, requesting a two-year prison sentence and a five-year period of ineligibility.
Le Pen said she felt they were “only interested” in preventing her from running for president.
Prosecutors also requested a guilty verdict for all the other co-defendants, including various sentences of up to one year in prison and a 2-million-euro ($2.2 million) fine for the party.
Ms Le Pen has long been a prominent figure in French politics, advocating for stringent immigration policies and Euroscepticism.
Despite a controversial track record, including her party’s historical ties to anti-Semitism, Le Pen has managed to position herself as a key challenger in presidential races, having been defeated twice by Emmanuel Macron
Her strong stance on nationalism and opposition to the European Union continues to resonate with a significant portion of the French electorate.
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