They condemned Le Pen for embezzlement funds and disabled it to appear in the presidential elections

Paris.- This Monday, a French court declared guilty to Marine Le Pennational group leader (RN, according to French), in a Fund diversion case, and sentenced her to 4 years in prison and 5 disqualification, which frustrates her presidential ambitions by 2027. The measure that could be appealed. The former 56 -year -old official, sitting in the first row of the Paris Court, showed no immediate reaction while the main judge read the verdict and left before knowing the penalty.

The magistrate Bénédicte de Perthuis He also dictated guilt verdicts to eight other current or previous members of his party that, like her, previously served as elected legislators in the European Parliament.

«The objective is to ensure that the elected representatives, like all the justices, do not benefit from a preferential treatment,» said the president of the Paris Correctional Court, Bénédicte de Perthuis, announcing this immediate execution penalty for Le Pen and the rest of the defendants. After briefly talk with your lawyer, The leader of the French extreme right left the court without waiting for the detail of the conviction. Did not make statements to the numerous means present.

During the oral process, the Prosecutor’s Office had requested five years in jail (two mandatory), 300,000 euros of a fine and five years of disqualification against it. In line with the request of the Public Ministry, the conviction blocks the candidacy of The leader to the 2027 presidential electionto which the current President Emmanuel Macron can no longer attend. The polls place her at the head of the first round. She had previously described this scenario as a «political death.»

Justice prosecuted between September and November, to its party and another 24 people for allegedly paying with the money of the European Parliament to the employees of their training between 2004 and 2016. According to the investigation, A “embezzlement system” of the 21,000 euros ($ 22,700) a month that each Euro -to -pay to pay their parliamentary assistants is launched in “concerted and deliberately”.

The Court considered that «in reality» they worked for the National Front (FN) party, renamed RN in 2018, which would have saved important sums of money with this practice prohibited by European legislation. The audiences exposed, for example, that part of the European Union money (EU) was used to pay the Le Pen bodyguardswho once was the one who guarded his father, as well as his personal assistant.

Le Pen was second behind President Macron in the 2017 and 2022 electionsand the electoral support of his party grew in recent years. Throughout nine -week trial that extended since the late 2024, The rightist argued that the disqualification «would have the effect of depriving myself of being a presidential candidate» and would deprive her rights of rights. «There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represented. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French would be deprived of their candidate in the election,» he told the panel of three judges.

If le pen cannot apply in 2027, Its apparent natural successor would be Jordan Bardella, his 29 -year -old protected one who happened at the head of the game in 2021.

With information from AP and AFP agencies