Marine Le Pen Guilty of Embezzling EU Funds

A French court found Marine Le Pen guilty on Monday in an embezzlement case but didn't immediately say what her sentence might be and how it might impact the far-right leader's political future. Le Pen, 56, who was runner-up to President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, showed no immediate reaction as the chief judge read the verdict, per the AP. The judge also handed down guilty verdicts to eight other current or former members of her party who, like her, previously served as elected lawmakers in the European Parliament. Le Pen and her co-defendants face up to 10 years in prison. They can appeal, which would lead to another trial.

The biggest concern for Le Pen is that the court may declare her ineligible to run for office "with immediate effect"—even if she appeals, per the AP. That could prevent her from running for president in 2027. She has described such a scenario as a "political death." As well as finding her and eight other former European lawmakers guilty of embezzling public funds, the court also handed down guilty verdicts to 12 other people who served as parliamentary aides for Le Pen and what is now the National Rally party, formerly the National Front. The court ruling said Le Pen's party operated "a system" to siphon off EU parliament money.

Le Pen and 24 other party officials were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the 27-nation bloc's regulations. Le Pen and her co-defendants denied wrongdoing. Le Pen argued it was acceptable to adapt the work of the aides paid by the European Parliament to the needs of the lawmakers, including some highly political work related to the party. Prosecutors requested a two-year prison sentence and a five-year period of ineligibility for Le Pen. If she cannot run in 2027, her seeming natural successor would be Jordan Bardella, Le Pen's 29-year-old protégé who succeeded her at the helm of the party in 2021. (More Marine Le Pen stories.)