The leftist French judiciary banned the right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen

French politician Marine Le Pen and eight other members of her right-wing party, National Rally, were found guilty in a left-biased trial of embezzling public funds this Monday, which resulted in Le Pen being banned from running for public office.

The French court did not specify the duration of Le Pen's disqualification, who left the room before her sentence was read. She is considered one of the main candidates for the 2027 presidential elections, and Le Pen has stated that banning her from participating in those elections would be a "political death."

Le Pen argued that such a sentence would be a way to deprive the 11 million people who voted for her of their candidate, which would severely affect her supporters and the well-being of France.

In the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, Le Pen came in second place against social-democratic president Emmanuel Macron, and her party has gained significant support in recent years. In her defense, she said she had not committed any illegal acts or irregularities.

Le Pen's case refers to the alleged misuse of European Parliament funds to support aspects of the National Rally party. Prosecutors argued that EU funds were used to pay Le Pen's bodyguard and personal assistant, as well as other party members.

Other defendants were convicted of similar misuse of funds. Prosecutors requested a two-year prison sentence and a five-year political disqualification for Le Pen.

Le Pen's sentence was a major political blow, given her ambitious plan to run again for the 2027 presidential elections. The decision was made within the context of a growing right-wing movement in Europe, driven by anti-mass immigration sentiment.

Le Pen and other right-wing leaders have gained significant support in recent years, and her conviction could have significant repercussions in French and European politics.

In addition to the disqualification from running for the presidency in 2027, the court sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison, two of which will be suspended and the other two will be served with an electronic bracelet outside of prison.

She was also fined 100,000 euros, which will not be enforced until her appeals are solved.

Le Pen's trial is related to a "fake jobs" scheme that lasted from 2004 to 2016, where European Parliament funds, intended for parliamentary assistants, were allegedly diverted to pay party workers in France.

The fraud, which allegedly lasted more than a decade, caused, according to the accusations, a loss of 4.5 million euros in European taxpayer funds. Judges heard that assistants paid by the European Parliament did not work on Strasbourg parliamentary matters, as they should have.

Despite the conviction, Le Pen will be able to maintain her current position as a member of the French Parliament for Pas-de-Calais, but she will not be able to run again in future parliamentary elections during her disqualification period.

Throughout her career, Le Pen has run for the presidency three times, reaching the runoff twice against Macron.

Her party, the National Rally, became the leading political force in the 2024 snap parliamentary elections, raising expectations that Le Pen could have her best chance of reaching the Élysée in 2027, focusing her campaign on opposition to immigration.

The sentence also raises the question of who will take her place in the next presidential race.

Jordan Bardella, current party president and member of the European Parliament, is considered an emerging leader within the movement, but lacks the necessary political experience to compete in a high-level presidential election.

A major repercussion occurred across the European continent upon learning of this decision by the French justice system. Among the reactions to Le Pen's conviction, which were mostly negative, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini criticized the unpopular decision and compared it to a "declaration of war from Brussels."