31 March 2025, 21:22
President of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) parliamentary group Marine Le Pen
President of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) parliamentary group Marine Le Pen. Picture: Getty
By Henry Moore
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has vowed to fight the decision to ban her from politics after being found guilty of embezzlement.
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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to a five-year ban on running for public office for embezzling EU funds.
The ruling, which takes effect immediately, is likely to bar her from running in France's next presidential election.
Le Pen, who was twice runner-up to French President Emmanuel Macron, has enjoyed growing support in recent years.
But speaking for the first time since her conviction, a furious Le Pen vowed to fight it and remain in frontline politics.
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Le Pen arriving at the Paris courthouse
Le Pen arriving at the Paris courthouse. Picture: Getty
Speaking on Monday evening, she declared, "I am innocent" and slammed "practices we thought were for authoritarian regimes.”
“Millions of French people are going to be deprived of the candidate who is the favourite for the presidential election,” she told TF1 news.
“Millions of French people are outraged”.
Le Pen was runner-up to President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and her party's electoral support has grown in recent years.
The nine-week trial took place in late 2024.
During her trial, she denied accusations that she was at the head of "a system" meant to siphon off EU parliament money to benefit her party, which she led from 2011 to 2021.
She argued instead that it was acceptable to adapt the work of the aides paid by the European Parliament to the needs of the legislators, including some highly political work related to the party, which was called the National Front at the time.
While giving evidence, Ms Le Pen told the court: "I absolutely don't feel I have committed the slightest irregularity, the slightest illegal move."
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Le Pen said she felt prosecutors were "only interested" in preventing her from running for president. Picture: Alamy
Hearings showed that some EU money was used to pay for Ms Le Pen's bodyguard - who was once her father's bodyguard - as well as her personal assistant.
Prosecutors asked the court to declare Ms Le Pen guilty and requested a two-year prison sentence and a five-year period of ineligibility.
Ms Le Pen said she felt they were "only interested" in preventing her from running for president.
Prosecutors also requested a guilty verdict for all other co-defendants, including various sentences of up to one year in prison and a two million euro (£1.6 million) fine for the party.
The chief judge rejected claims by Le Pen that she was a victim of a political witchhunt.
The judge said: “Let it be clear: no one has been judged for their political activities. That is not the question. The question was to find out if these [parliamentary work] contracts were carried out or not.”
Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 29-year-old protégé, said: “Today it is not only Marine Le Pen who was unjustly condemned: it was French democracy that was killed.”
Donald Trump, meanwhile, described today's news as "concerning."
"I am shocked by the incredibly tough verdict against Marine Le Pen. I support and believe in her 100% and I trust she will win the appeal and become president of France," said Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders.
In Italy, deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini warned: "The ruling against Marine Le Pen is a declaration of war by Brussels."
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared: "I am Marine."
Spain's Vox party leader Santiago Abascal insisted: "They will not succeed in silencing the voice of the French people."
From Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "More and more European capitals are going down the path of trampling over democratic norms."