Marine Le Pen Banned from French Presidency Race in 2027
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen barred from running for president in 2027
The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been disqualified from running for president in 2027 after a court found her guilty of embezzlement of European parliament funds. The court also banned her from running for public office immediately. This decision came as a major blow to Le Pen, who was hoping to launch her fourth campaign for the presidency.
Before the verdict, Le Pen expressed that a ban on running for election would be like a “political death sentence.” She is expected to appeal against the ruling. Judges imposed a five-year ban on her from running for public office, which will take effect immediately. Additionally, she was sentenced to four years in prison, with two years suspended and the other two to be served with an electronic bracelet. A fine of €100,000 was also imposed on her.
Le Pen and 24 members of her party were found guilty of a scheme to embezzle European parliament funds by diverting money meant for parliamentary assistants to pay party workers in France. This system of fake jobs lasted from 2004 to 2016 and caused losses of €4.5 million in European taxpayer funds.
Despite the ban on running for office, Le Pen will retain her position as a member of the French parliament for Pas-de-Calais. However, she will not be able to stand in any future parliamentary election during the duration of her disqualification.
Le Pen has previously run for French president three times and made it to the final run-off on two occasions. Her party, the National Rally, emerged as the largest party in parliament after the 2024 snap parliamentary elections. She had high hopes of winning the presidency in 2027 with a platform focused on immigration control.
