A French court found Marine Le Pen guilty on Monday in a misappropriation, with a punishment that she performed from the public office for five years with “immediate effect”.
The verdict prevents her from running for the nationalist of the nationalist of the National Rally Party of anti-immigration in 2027.
The public prosecutor also condemned her home -like to two years with an electronic bracelet, two more years. In addition, Le Pen was fined with a fine of 100,000 euros (154,000 US dollars).
Neither the prison sentence nor the fine would be applied until their appeals are exhausted, but their five -year ban on combating office offers via a so -called “preliminary execution”, which was requested by prosecutors, and only canceled if an appeal is observed before the election. Le Pen, whose lawyer confirmed that she would appeal to the judgment, retains her parliamentary seat.
The 56-year-old Le Pen was committed to President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential election, and her party’s election support has increased in recent years. According to its performance, the national rally maintains the most seats in the National Assembly in the legislative elections of last year, which Macron forced to build a government coalition beyond his own party.
Le Pen and the party officers, who was previously known as the national front, were accused of using money for the European Union’s parliamentary helpers to pay employees who worked against the regulations of the 27-nation block for the party between 2004 and 2016.
Judge Benedicte de Perthuis, who reads the judgment of the body of three judges, said Le Pen was “in the heart” of the program. The judge said that Le Pen and other accused did not personally enriched himself, but the embezzlement was “a democratic bypass” who deceived the parliament and the voters.
Le Pen repeatedly shook his head into disagreement when the culprit was read. “Incredible,” she whispered at some point.
The judge also gave guilty judgments to eight other current or former members of their party, who, like them previously worked as the legislator of the European Parliament.
Legal politicians make a judgment
During the nine -week legal proceedings, which took place at the end of 2024, Le Pen argued that the inadmissibility would “have the effects to rob me of being a presidential candidate” and dismissed her followers.
“There are 11 million people who voted for the movement that I represent. So … potentially, millions and millions of French would be withdrawn from their candidate in the election,” she told the body of three judges.
This kind of feeling was immediately accepted by her followers in France and beyond.
Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister of Italy and Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemned the judgment.
“Je suis marine!” Read a contribution from Orbans X account.
The Kremlin also condemned the judgment in a declaration.
Le Pen left the courthouse of Highlise Paris without stopping to speak to reporters and climbed into a car that she drove away.
The court also released guilty judgments to 12 other people who acted as parliamentary helpers for Le Pen.
If Le Pen cannot run in 2027, her apparent natural successor Jordan Bardella, Le Pens, would be 29-year-old Sagittarius, which she will follow as party president in 2021.
“Today it was not just Marine Le Pen who was wrongly convicted: it was French democracy that was killed,” said Bardella in a statement.
Le Pen had argued that it was acceptable to adapt the work of the helpers paid by the European Parliament to the needs of legislators, including some political work in connection with the party.
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Listeners showed that an EU money was used to for Le Pens Leibwächter – who was once her father’s bodyguard – and for her personal assistant.
Jean-Marie Le Pen, her father, was a co-founder of the national front in the 1970s and led her from a marginal party to combat French elections in a 2002 course.
