French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s political future took a dramatic hit Monday after a Paris court found her guilty of embezzlement, sentencing her to a four-year prison term – two suspended and two under electronic monitoring – while slapping her with a 100,000 euros ($108,000) fine and a five-year ban from public office.
The ruling, stemming from a years-long probe into the misuse of European Union funds, likely ends Le Pen’s aspirations for the 2027 presidential race.
As the clear frontrunner in an election where President Emmanuel Macron is ineligible to run, her removal from the political stage sends shockwaves through France’s power structure.
Le Pen, 56, has vowed to appeal, but the lengthy legal process makes it unlikely she will be cleared in time to compete.
The case centered on accusations that Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) party funneled European Parliament funds – meant for legislative assistants – toward staff working for her political operations.
The court also convicted eight former RN lawmakers and 12 parliamentary aides involved in the scheme.
The verdict puts the party’s leadership into disarray, raising immediate questions about its future direction.
Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old RN president and Le Pen’s protege, blasted the ruling as an attack on democracy.
“Today, it is not only Marine Le Pen who is being unjustly condemned; it is French democracy that is being executed,” Bardella wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Before Monday’s decision, the plan had been clear: Le Pen for president, Bardella for prime minister. With her sidelined, the young leader must now decide whether to step into the race himself – a move that could define the far-right’s trajectory in France.
The verdict has drawn fierce international responses, with allies rushing to Le Pen’s defense. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán posted a simple but defiant message in French: “Je suis Marine!” – “I am Marine.”
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini took it further, calling the ruling a “declaration of war.”
Salvini, who heads the right-wing League party, accused the Paris court of trying to erase Le Pen from political life, drawing comparisons to court rulings in Eastern European countries.
“We will not be intimidated, we will not stop: full speed ahead, my friend!” he declared.
Even the Kremlin weighed in. “Our observations in European capitals show that there is no hesitation in overstepping the boundaries of democracy in the political process,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, adding to the chorus of criticism against the French judiciary.
Le Pen has consistently denied wrongdoing, framing the trial as a political witch hunt.
“I don’t feel I have committed the slightest irregularity, the slightest illegality,” she said during proceedings. “It is my political death that is being sought.”
The allegations, dating back to 2004-2016, involve an estimated 7 million euros ($7.3 million) in misappropriated funds.
Le Pen repaid 330,000 euros to the European Parliament in 2023 but maintained it was not an admission of guilt.
Her conviction adds her name to a growing list of French political heavyweights entangled in legal battles.
Former President Nicolas Sarkozy, for instance, was recently sentenced to serve time under electronic monitoring at home under strict curfew conditions.
The precise terms of Le Pen’s house arrest remain unclear, as such details in France are typically finalized only after all appeals are exhausted.
For now, France’s far-right movement faces a major crossroads. Le Pen spent years rebranding the party from the extremist image of its founder – her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen – into a viable electoral force. That effort saw RN surge in recent European Parliament elections and gain ground in last year’s French parliamentary vote.
