Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party, has scuppered her own much-fancied 2027 fourth presidential bid after being found guilty of defrauding taxpayers of more than €4 million.
Le Pen was yesterday sentenced to four years (two suspended, and two of which can be served with an electronic tag rather than in custody), given a five-year ban on serving in public office and a fine of €100,000 by the Paris Correctional Court after a conviction for “embezzlement of public funds”. More than €4 million was improperly diverted to the party. The decision upends the French political landscape, as Le Pen was one of the favourites for the presidential election. She has said she will appeal, though it is unclear whether the case could be heard before the vote.
The ruling has been denounced as an attack on democracy by Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni. And yet a ban on running for office is an appropriate penalty for subverting the electoral system – Le Pen is paying the penalty of attempting to rig the system in her party’s favour.
The sanction had been previously enacted by President Emmanuel Macron with Le Pen’s support, presumably as a necessary means to protect the electoral system from the rampant party funding abuse that was a feature of French politics. The context is crucial – prior to Macron, the last two French presidents from the centre-right, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac, were both convicted of corruption after they left office. Five of the last six French centre-right prime ministers have faced criminal charges. Two were acquitted.
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A second Sarkozy trial is set to end on April 8th, and prosecutors have asked for a sentence of seven years, a €300,000 fine, and a five-year ban from politics.
The suggestion that Le Pen and her 24 convicted co-defendants are being singled out for unduly harsh treatment does not wash. But the fact she probably cannot run in the presidential election provides another rallying point for the far right.
