PARIS — Marine Le Pen, the prominent figure of the French far-right, was found guilty of embezzlement by a French court on Monday. The court has not yet announced her sentence or how it might affect her political future.
Le Pen, who was present in the Paris courtroom, displayed no immediate reaction as the verdict was delivered by the chief judge.
In addition to Le Pen, eight other current or former members of her party, all of whom previously served as members of the European Parliament, were also found guilty.
Le Pen and her co-defendants could face up to 10 years in prison. They have the option to appeal, which would result in a new trial.
A major concern for Le Pen is the possibility that the court could declare her ineligible to hold office “with immediate effect,” even during an appeal. This could prevent her from running for president in 2027, a scenario she has described as “political death.”
The verdict is a significant setback for Le Pen and her party. Besides Le Pen and the eight other former European lawmakers, twelve additional individuals who worked as parliamentary aides for Le Pen and the National Rally party (formerly the National Front) were also found guilty.
The court stated that Le Pen’s party had “a system” in place to divert funds from the EU parliament.
Le Pen and 24 other National Rally officials were accused of misusing funds intended for European Union parliamentary aides to pay party staff between 2004 and 2016, violating EU regulations. They have denied any wrongdoing.
Le Pen, 56, was the runner-up to Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her party has seen increased electoral support in recent years.
During the nine-week trial in late 2024, she argued that being declared ineligible “would effectively prevent me from being a presidential candidate” and disenfranchise her supporters.
“There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represent. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would find themselves deprived of their candidate in the election,” she told the judges.
If Le Pen is unable to run in 2027, Jordan Bardella, her 29-year-old protégé and the current leader of the party since 2021, would be the likely successor.
Le Pen denied accusations of leading a system to siphon off EU parliament money for her party’s benefit, a party she led from 2011 to 2021. Instead, she argued that it was acceptable to adapt the work of European Parliament-funded aides to the needs of the lawmakers, including politically-related tasks for the party, which was allowed at the time.
The hearings revealed that some EU funds were used to pay for Le Pen’s bodyguard (who was previously Jean-Marie Le Pen’s bodyguard) and her personal assistant.
Prosecutors requested a two-year prison sentence and a five-year period of ineligibility for Le Pen.
Le Pen stated that she believed the prosecution was “only interested” in preventing her from running for president.
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