A Paris court has sentenced Marine Le Pen to four years in prison and a ban on participating in the French presidential election in 2027.
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“The court has decided to impose a four-year prison sentence against Madame Le Pen, two of them suspended, and two of them can be commuted. She will also not be able to be elected to public authorities for a term of five years,” Judge Benedict de Pertuis said.
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Le Pen, therefore, will not go to prison, and will serve her sentence with an electronic bracelet at home. She was also ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 euros.
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According to a study by the Journal du Dimanche, 37 percent of respondents were ready to vote for the politician in the first round of elections, she leads among all other potential candidates. Le Pen ran for president three times. In 2012, she lost in the first round to Francois Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy. In 2017 and 2022, she reached the second round, but both times she lost to Emmanuel Macron with a small gap in the number of votes.
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The politician was found guilty of embezzlement of European Parliament funds. In addition, eight more deputies from the National Union party were convicted, and 12 were found guilty of concealing information. They were sentenced to be unable to be elected to government.
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Le Pen left the courtroom without waiting for the verdict to be read.
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The European Parliament’s money laundering trial against Le Pen and 26 members of the National Unification Party has been taking place in Paris since September 30. The politicians were accused of using the EP’s money to pay for the work of parliamentary assistants who actually worked only for the National Association.
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The court ruled that 12 people had been fictitiously working in the European Parliament for 11 years. The total amount of damage to the EP is estimated at 4.1 million euros. Thus, party members, including Le Pen, did not seek personal enrichment, but this led to the enrichment of the party, the court believes.
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Le Pen was also found guilty of creating a system “aimed at simplifying fictitious hiring in order to ease the financial burden on the party.” The judge noted that the MEP “bears personal responsibility” for the actions of the assistants and the payment for their work.
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Le Pen called such a sentence a political death.
In addition, she believes that the court’s decision will indirectly cast doubt on the legitimacy of the presidential elections in 2027. Depriving citizens of a democratic choice can lead to a loss of confidence in the future head of state.
