French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to prison in a case involving the misuse of European Union (EU) funds. The court’s ruling also bars her from running for public office for the next five years.
According to the Financial Times (FT), a Paris court delivered the verdict on Monday, sentencing Le Pen to two years of house arrest with electronic monitoring, followed by a potential two-year suspended sentence. She was also fined 100,000 euros (approximately $119,250).
The Paris Criminal Court found that Le Pen and officials from her National Rally (RN) party conspired to misappropriate 2.9 million euros ($3.45 million) in EU subsidies between 2004 and 2016. The funds were allegedly used to pay party staff salaries and cover other expenses.
Le Pen, who currently leads in opinion polls, has announced plans to appeal. However, experts suggest the lengthy appeals process will likely prevent her from running in the 2027 presidential election.
The rise of far-right populism across Europe has reshaped France’s political landscape. In last year’s parliamentary elections, President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist-right coalition lost seats to both far-right and far-left parties, weakening its majority.
Le Pen, who has run for president three times, had been positioning herself for another attempt in 2027. However, with the court revoking her right to run for public office, her prison term will not begin until the appeals process concludes, and her electoral disqualification takes immediate effect.
This means she cannot run for president unless an appeals court restores her eligibility before the election. Analysts predict a final decision may not come until just before 2027.
In response to the ruling, the RN has called for large-scale protests.
Le Pen’s electoral performance had been steadily improving, securing 33.9% of the vote in the 2017 presidential runoff and 41.46% in 2022. She was inching closer to the 50% threshold, but the court’s decision has now derailed her presidential ambitions.
Far-right groups across Europe have condemned the ruling, accusing the judiciary of interfering in politics. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who played a key role in Donald Trump’s reelection, criticized the verdict as politically motivated. In a post on his social media platform X, Musk wrote, “When the radical left can’t win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents.”
In contrast, the U.S. Supreme Court—dominated by conservative justices appointed by Trump—effectively granted Trump immunity for actions taken during his presidency, clearing the way for his successful reelection last year.
Other far-right leaders have also defended Le Pen. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini denounced the ruling on X, calling it “a declaration of war by Brussel (EU headquarters),” and said we would never be intimidated or stopped.
Russia has also intervened, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accusing, “More and more European capitals are violating democratic norms.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, often criticized for his far-right autocratic tendencies, expressed solidarity by posting “I am Marine! (Je suis Marine!)” on social media.
