France : Marine Le Pen faces 5-year political ban and 4-year prison sentence

Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzling public funds on Monday, March 31, 2025, in the case of the National Front’s European parliamentary assistants. The court sentenced her to five years of ineligibility, effective immediately, along with four years in prison—two of which will be served under electronic monitoring—and a €100,000 fine. This ruling bars her from running in the 2027 presidential election.

Leaving the courthouse in silence, the president of the National Rally group in the National Assembly let her designated successor, Jordan Bardella, express his outrage on X: «Today, it is not just Marine Le Pen who is unjustly condemned; it is French democracy that is being executed».

Throughout her trial, held between September and November 2024, Le Pen denied the charges, denouncing what she called a «system» designed to prevent her party from gaining power. She is set to speak publicly for the first time following her conviction during the 8 PM news on TF1.

This ruling reshapes the political landscape within the National Rally. If she appeals, her political future remains uncertain, but in any case, Jordan Bardella is expected to take the helm. «She was grooming him. He should have been at Matignon if she had been elected. This completely changes the game», analyzes journalist Nathalie Saint-Cricq.