French far-right leader sentenced to house arrest, public office ban, threatening 2027 presidential bid

Marine Le Pen, leader of France's far-right National Rally party, was found guilty of embezzlement by a French court on Monday, a verdict that could jeopardize her chances of running in the 2027 presidential election.

The court sentenced Le Pen to two years of house arrest and imposed a five-year ban from holding public office. This decision is a significant blow to Le Pen’s political career, with some observers suggesting it could be a “political death” for the 56-year-old leader, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The court ruling also affects eight other European lawmakers and 12 former parliamentary assistants affiliated with National Rally, who were found guilty of using 4.5 million euros in European Parliament funds to pay assistants working primarily for party duties rather than legislative work.

Le Pen, who has run for president twice, has previously described the potential ban from public office as her “political death.” Her supporters quickly rallied behind her, with Jordan Bardella, her protégé, criticizing the ruling on social media, saying that Le Pen “is being unjustly condemned” and that “French democracy is being executed.”

The sentence also includes a hefty 300,000 euro fine. Although Le Pen can appeal, the ban on holding public office takes immediate effect, which could rule her out of the 2027 presidential race. Her defense argued that the use of EU funds for party-related work was acceptable and that Le Pen was not personally enriching herself through the payments.

In the court’s ruling, the judge described the embezzlement as “a democratic bypass” and acknowledged that the accused did not personally profit from the funds but used them to benefit the party. Le Pen and her co-defendants denied the charges and have vowed to challenge the ruling.

The political ramifications of this verdict are profound, with some arguing that it could reshape France’s political landscape as the 2027 election draws closer.

By Vafa Guliyeva