Marine Le Pen, the far-right French politician, was banned from running for office Monday after being convicted of embezzlement in criminal court, the Associated Press reported.
A Paris court returned the verdict on Monday. It will prevent La Pen from running in the 2027 presidential election unless she wins on appeal. If upheld, Le Pen will also be barred from seeking any other office for five years.
Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 29-year-old protégé who is likely to move to lead the far-right National Rally after LePen, claimed on social media that “French democracy has been executed.” Other far-right European leaders, like Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, also voiced support for Le Pen.
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Alongside Le Pen, twelve assistants where convicted of concealing the embezzlement, which the court estimated to be to the tune of 2.9 million Euros, about $3.1 million. Le Pen was also sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of 100,000 Euros, about $108,000.
"The court took into consideration, in addition to the risk of reoffending, the major disturbance of public order if a person already convicted... was a candidate in the presidential election," said Benedicte de Perthuis, the presiding judge.
Since the party’s creation in 1972, the National Rally has always been led by either Le Pen or her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died earlier this year. Recent polling had indicated that Le Pen was the leading candidate in the 2027 presidential election.
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