Rabat – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to four years in prison by the Paris Criminal Court for misusing European Parliament funds.
Under the ruling, Le Pen will serve two years under house arrest with an electronic bracelet, while the remaining two years are suspended.
Most notably, the court barred her from holding public office for five years, a decision that significantly impacts Le Pen’s political career and eliminates her prospects of running in the 2027 presidential election.
In addition to the prison sentence, Le Pen was fined €100,000 ($108,000). And her party, the National Rally (RN), has been ordered to pay €2 million ($2.16 million) in penalties after being found guilty of embezzling €4.1 million ($4.43 million) in European Union funds.
The court’s presiding judge described the far-right politician’s actions as a “serious and enduring violation of democratic principles in both France and the EU.” The judge further noted that her immediate political ban was necessary to prevent potential “democratic instability” should a convicted individual hold public office.
Reacting to the verdict, Le Pen dismissed the ruling as politically driven. Speaking on TF1 on Monday evening, she argued that her rights under the European Convention on Human Rights had been violated and that she had been denied proper legal recourse. “I’m not going to submit to a democratic denial so easily,” Le Pen said.
She has sought to rebrand the National Rally since assuming leadership of the far-right party in 2011, distancing it from the extremist views of its founder, her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen.
In particular, she has softened the party’s rhetoric, changed its name from the National Front, and attempted to broaden its appeal.
Despite running for the French presidency three times, Le Pen has yet to secure victory. But she has steadily increased her share of the vote over the years. Yet her political future is now uncertain with this conviction, marking a major setback for the far-right movement in France.
