BREAKING: Marine Le Pen Sentenced 4 Years In Jail and Banned From 2027 Presidential Elections

Paris: Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Rally, on Monday was sentenced to four years in prison and barred from contesting the 2027 presidential election. Judge Bénédicte de Perthuis also imposed a fine of Rs 92.9 lakh on the 56-year-old politician.

The ruling comes after a French court found Le Pen and eight others guilty in an embezzlement case involving the misuse of European Union funds. The case alleged that between 2004 and 2016, Le Pen and 24 other members of her party redirected EU funds meant for parliamentary aides to cover salaries for party staff—a violation of the bloc’s regulations.

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This decision will change the political landscape of the far-right party. With her disqualification from office, 29-year-old Jordan Bardella, who is expected to lead the National Rally in Le Pen's absence.

During her nine-week trial in late 2024, Le Pen maintained and refuted the allegations, arguing that her disqualification would not only end her political career but also disenfranchise millions of her supporters.

“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,” she told the panel of judges.

Le Pen denied allegations that she orchestrated a scheme to funnel EU parliamentary funds into party operations, instead asserting that using parliamentary aides for political work was justified. At the time of the alleged offenses, her party was still known as the National Front.

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Court proceedings also revealed that some of the misappropriated EU funds were used to pay for Le Pen’s personal assistant and bodyguard, who previously worked for her father.

While Le Pen and her co-defendants have the right to appeal the verdict, doing so would lead to another trial. Despite this, Le Pen has claimed that the prosecution was politically motivated and that authorities were “only interested” in preventing her from running for president.

(inputs from AP)