Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to four years in prison, with two years suspended, after being found guilty of embezzling millions of euros from the European Parliament. The French far-right leader has also been banned from running for public office, preventing her from standing in the 2027 presidential election. The court ruled that Le Pen and 24 other officials from her National Rally (RN) party misused over €3 million (£2.5 million) of EU funds to pay France-based staff, an act described as treating the European Parliament as a “cash cow.” She has denied any wrongdoing and is expected to appeal the verdict.
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Le Pen, 56, is the daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the controversial founder of the National Front. After taking over in 2011, she sought to modernise the party, renaming it the National Rally in an attempt to distance it from its far-right roots. Despite these efforts, she has remained a divisive figure in French politics, advocating for strict immigration policies and proposing bans on Islamic headscarves in public. Although she stepped down as party leader in 2021, she remains a key figure in the movement and was widely seen as the leading challenger to Emmanuel Macron’s successor in 2027.
The court’s ruling has thrown the French political landscape into uncertainty, as Le Pen was a frontrunner in opinion polls ahead of the next election. During the sentencing, she dramatically walked out of the courtroom before being driven away. Prosecutors insisted that the ruling was based on financial misconduct rather than political motivations, though Le Pen has claimed she is being targeted in an attempt to keep her party from gaining power.
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Despite her legal troubles, the National Rally remains a significant force in French politics. Her successor, 29-year-old Jordan Bardella, now faces the challenge of keeping the party’s momentum without its most recognisable leader. Le Pen’s appeal process could take months or even years, but for now, her political future hangs in the balance.
