A French court has delivered a stunning blow to far-right leader Marine Le Pen, banning her from holding public office for five years and effectively derailing her potential 2027 presidential bid. The Paris court also sentenced Le Pen to a four-year prison term, with two years suspended and the remaining two to be served under electronic monitoring.
The ruling stems from a long-running investigation into alleged misuse of European Union funds by Le Pen’s National Rally party. The court found her guilty of improperly diverting parliamentary assistants’ salaries for party purposes between 2004 and 2016.
Le Pen’s political heir, National Rally president Jordan Bardella, immediately denounced the verdict as “unjust” and claimed French democracy was being “executed.” The decision comes just three years after Le Pen’s strong second-place finish in the 2024 presidential election against Emmanuel Macron.
Legal experts note the sentence could still be appealed to France’s highest court, leaving a narrow path for Le Pen to potentially salvage her political future. The ruling nonetheless creates significant upheaval in French politics as the country prepares for its next presidential cycle.
The National Rally, which currently leads in several polls for June’s European Parliament elections, now faces the challenge of maintaining its momentum without its most recognizable figure at the helm of future national campaigns. Opposition parties have largely welcomed the court’s decision, while human rights organizations warn it could galvanize far-right supporters who view the ruling as political persecution.
