Le Pen’s presidential hopes hit by guilty verdict

The veteran right-wing lawmaker was charged with financial misconduct regarding EU parliamentary funding

Veteran French politician Marine Le Pen, who has sought to run for president in 2027 from her right-wing National Rally (RN) party, was found guilty of embezzlement on Monday.

A Paris court did not immediately announce any specific punishment, with the reading out of the verdict expected to take hours. Le Pen, however, faces a ban from seeking any public office in the country for several years.

The party and two dozen of its senior figures, including Le Pen, were accused of diverting over €3 million ($3.3 million) between 2004 and 2016. According to the accusations, money intended for payments to European Parliament aides instead went to national staff.

Prosecutors had asked for a five-year ban from public office for the 56-year-old MP to come into effect immediately, regardless of any appeals process. RN has described the charges as politically motivated, while Le Pen accused her opponents of aiming to cause her “political death.”

Le Pen ran for the French presidency in three consecutive elections, with outgoing leader Emmanuel Macron beating her in 2022 by less than 10 percent points.