Marine Le Pen barred from presidential election over embezzlement of European funds

Will Rassemblement National figurehead Marine Le Pen never again be able to run for a top political position or even the presidency in France?

Marine Le Pen was found guilty by the court in Paris on Monday morning, along with eight Members of the European Parliament, on charges of embezzling public funds. All elected representatives, including Marine Le Pen, were sentenced to ineligibility. As reported by Le Monde.

“Marine Le Pen is found guilty of embezzling public funds for an amount of 474,000 euros”, said the presiding judge. The case involves a scheme that Le Pen, along with around twenty others, set up to channel European funds between 2004 and 2016 to the headquarters of Rassemblement National in Paris. The total amount involved is said to be as much as 7 million euros.

It consequently appears that Le Pen will not be able to stand as a candidate in the presidential elections set to take place in 2027 in France.

(SR - Source: Le Monde - Photo: ©Vox España, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)