Marine Le Pen verdict leaves supporters and critics uneasy

By Rosie Birchard, PARIS France

On Monday, a French court found the far-right politician Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzlement, sentencing her to four years' imprisonment and a five-year ban from seeking elected office.

It was a verdict heard the world over, as the ruling essentially bars the three-time French presidential hopeful and a linchpin of Europe's far right from competing in France's 2027 presidential race —which was shaping up to be her best shot yet at the country's top job. 

Few rejoiced at the news. Her supporters say she's being deliberately silenced, while some of her critics fear far-reaching political consequences of the judges' decision.

As the dust settles after years of legal preparations, a months-long high-profile trial, and an hours-long reading of a detailed legal judgment, France's political earthquake may be just beginning.

Le Pen's party has vowed to pursue "all possible remedies" to the sentence, and Le Pen has already filed an appeal. The Paris Court of Appeal said on Tuesday that it could issue a decision as soon as the summer of 2026. Until then, the ban is effective immediately, but does not pertain to Le Pen's position as lawmaker, which she is currently permitted to retain.

Monday's decision was taken by three judges at a Paris court, and based on evidence presented by prosecutors. The chief judge of Le Pen's trial made it clear she had no doubt the far-right politician was guilty of overseeing a fake jobs scheme at the European Parliament, which saw millions of euros in EU taxpayers' money diverted to fund national party business between 2004 and 2016. She added that Le Pen and her party's consistent denial of any wrongdoing showed a risk of re-offending.

Paris-based law professor Julien Boudon told DW that the five-year ban on running for office handed down to Le Pen followed French legislation and legal precedents on cases of embezzlement by politicians.

"It's totally standard," Boudon said, adding he was "not at all surprised."

French lawmakers had voted to toughen punishments for corruption following a  2016 scandal involving former budget minister Jerome Cahuzac, who was eventually convicted of tax fraud. Those laws made electoral bans the penalty for such crimes, and Le Pen herself has in the past pushed for harsher sentences for those found guilty of misusing public funds.

Law professor Boudon also noted that, had judges let Le Pen off with a shorter-than-standard ban, they would have faced even harsher accusations of politicizing judicial processes than they do already.

Meanwhile, accusations of violating the rule of law and politicizing legal processes have been pouring in domestically and abroad. On Tuesday, Le Pen's heir apparent Jordan Bardella blasted what he called the "tyranny of judges which contravenes voter freedom."

Similar claims echoed from Le Pen's political allies around the world.

Matteo Salvini from Italy's far-right Lega party alleged that this was an attempt to "remove [Le Pen] from political life," and "a declaration of war," while Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro alleged on X that the French left were using "judicial activism to win elections without a real opposition."