Marie Le Pen, a French far-right leader, was found guilty of embezzlement in a sentencing by a criminal court in Paris on Monday and has been barred from running for public office for five years.
The verdict is a major blow to the presidential ambitions of Ms. Le Pen, an anti-immigrant, nationalist politician who was widely seen as a front-runner in the race to succeed Emmanuel Macron in 2027, despite three past failed bids. Marie Le Pen, 56, was also sentenced to four years in prison, with two of those years suspended, and a fine of 100,000 euros, or about $108,000.
Le Pen has long denied any wrongdoing in the case, which involved accusations that her party, the National Rally, illegally used several million euros in European Parliament funds for party expenses between 2004 and 2016.
She is widely expected to appeal the verdict, which would put most of her sentence on hold. But the court ruled that her electoral ineligibility is effective immediately and as a result, only a successful appeal before the 2027 deadline to enter the race would allow her to run for presidency.
That would be difficult as the appeals process is slow in France, and even if a new trial took take place before the 2027 election, it is unclear whether the prosecution’s case would be overturned.
French Democracy at Risk
Some politicians, have expressed fears that barring Mare Le Pen from competing in the presidential race, despite her party’s popularity, could fuel a democratic crisis in the already fragile nation with the French legislature already divided.
The government struggled to pass a budget this year and could still be toppled at any time by lawmakers in the lower house, where Ms. Le Pen’s party is the single largest and the verdict could usher in a period of renewed political turmoil if Ms. Le Pen decides to lash out against France’s fragile government or if anger spills over into the streets.
