French leading opposition leader Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and banned from holding any public office after she was convicted of embezzlement by a criminal court in Paris on Monday, putting her 2027 presidential bid in jeopardy.
The judgment bars her from running for public office for five years, jeopardising the far-right leader’s plans to run for president in 2027.
According to the New York Times, Ms Le Pen was found guilty of embezzling several million euros in European Parliament funds for unrelated partisan expenses between 2004 and 2016 after she was charged alongside 20 other people in the case, which the opposition said was politically motivated.
The leader of the far-right National Rally, the largest single opposition party in the French parliament, was also sentenced to four years imprisonment and a fine of $108,000.
Ms Le Pen has long denied any wrongdoing, with Monday’s verdict coming as a huge blow for the 56-year-old politician who is widely expected to contest in the 2027 presidential election after unsuccessful attempts in 2012, 2017 and 2022.
She is expected to appeal the decision, which would put most of her sentence on hold, but not the ban on running for public office after the court ruled that her ineligibility to contest in any election for the next five years will begin immediately.
