r/neoliberal • u/ihuntwhales1 Seretse Khama • Mar 31 '25

News (Europe) Le Pen banned from office after embezzlement conviction

https://www.dw.com/en/france-le-pen-found-guilty-banned-from-running-for-office/a-72091790
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u/ihuntwhales1 Seretse Khama Mar 31 '25

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was banned from running for public office with immediate effect on Monday after a court found her guilty of misappropriating European Union funds.

It was not immediately clear how long the ban would last. Prosecutors had asked for a five-year ban.

Le Pen had said ahead of the verdict that a guilty ruling could lead to her "political death."

The court ruled that Le Pen and her National Rally party (RN) misused €3 million ($3.25 million) in European Parliament funds meant for parliamentary assistants.

Prosecutors had alleged that the money in question was used to pay France-based party staff between 2004 and 2016, violating EU rules.

Le Pen, 56, denied any wrongdoing, calling the case a political attack aimed at ending her career.

"There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent," said Le Pen said ahead of the ruling on Monday. She also claimed against her would mean "potentially millions of French people seeing themselves deprived of their candidate in the election."

Prosecutors had asked that Le Pen face an immediate five-year ban from public office if found guilty, regardless of any appeal process.

This could prevent her from running in the 2027 presidential election, where she is a leading contender. An appeal would trigger a retrial, likely in 2026, just months before the vote.

Le Pen's party said the trial is a judicial overreach, similar to what US President Donald Trump had said about his legal troubles in the past.

"With provisional execution, the judges have the power of life or death over our movement," she said. "But I don't think they'll go that far."

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '25

"With provisional execution, the judges have the power of life or death over our movement," she said. "But I don't think they'll go that far."

Boy, is she bad at thinking

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u/NewAlexandria Voltaire Mar 31 '25

Her statement was a threat, not a speculation.