Marine Le Pen faces potential prison time and a ban from public office for alleged embezzlement of EU funds.
If Paris prosecutors succeed in their case against Le Pen, the hard-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) may need to choose a new candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
Paris prosecutors on November 13 requested a five-year prison sentence for Marine Le Pen, including two years of mandatory jail time. They also requested a five-year ban on eligibility for public office.
The prosecutor’s office has also asked that this sentence of five years’ ineligibility be “provisionally enforced”.
If the court follows the prosecutors’ request, Marine Le Pen will not be able to stand in 2027’s presidential election unless she succeeds in overturning the verdict on appeal.
That appeal trial, though, would have to be organised before 2027.
Le Pen and 24 other defendants are accused of using European Union funds to pay personnel who worked primarily for the party, rather than for elected representatives in Brussels.
The judiciary has begun investigating the National Rally for allegedly setting up a large-scale system of public fund misappropriation between 2004 and 2016.
After the prosecutors’ announcement, several National Rally members, including Le Pen, accused the justice system of being biased.
“I believe that the prosecutor’s intention is to deprive the French people of the ability to vote for those they want and to ruin the party,” Le Pen said November 13.
To show support for Marine Le Pen, members of her party launched an online petition to “defend democracy” and a social media campaign on X using the hashtag #ISupportMarine.
Jordan Bardella, the party’s president, also criticised prosecutors.
“The prosecution is not acting in the interest of justice; it is pursuing relentless harassment and vengeance against Marine Le Pen. Its scandalous demands aim to deprive millions of French people of their vote in 2027. This is an attack on democracy. All my support, Marine,” he wrote on X.
Le parquet n’est pas dans la justice: il est dans l’acharnement et la vengeance à l’égard de Marine Le Pen.
Ses réquisitions scandaleuses visent à priver des millions de Français de leur vote en 2027. C’est une atteinte à la démocratie.
Tout mon soutien Marine.… pic.twitter.com/8V7aioZWSn
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) November 13, 2024
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban expressed support by drawing a parallel between Marine Le Pen’s legal challenges and Donald Trump’s indictments in the United States.
“I could not believe [the] news about Marine Le Pen. Marine, please remember we are with you in this battle! And don’t forget: being harassed by the judiciary was a crucial step towards victory for President Trump,” he said.
Former interior minister Gerald Darmanin expressed his support.
“It would be deeply shocking if Marine Le Pen were found to be ineligible and therefore unable to stand for election by the French people,” he said on X.
“Fighting Le Pen is done at the ballot box, not elsewhere. If the court deems that she should be condemned, she cannot be condemned electorally, without the expression of the people,” he added.
Darmanin argued the justice system was biased against Le Pen’s Rassemblement National.
Under French law, a conviction for misappropriation of public funds would automatically result in ineligibility for office.
If she is convicted, the party plans to appeal the sentence, and for now, has rejected the prospect of considering an alternative candidate for 2027.
During the proceedings, Marine Le Pen has also reaffirmed her own intention to run in the 2027 presidential election.
National Assembly member and RN spokesman Jean-Philippe Tanguy rejected the possibility that Jordan Bardella might be the party’s presidential candidate instead.
Meanwhile, critics of the party used the moment to revive a younger Marine Le Pen’s statement that “French people are fed up with elected representatives embezzling public money”.
5 ans de prison dont 2 ans ferme aménageables et une peine d'inéligibilité de 5 ans requis à l'encontre de Marine Le Pen.
Une visionnaire pic.twitter.com/o2k47cE87p— Ultimes scories (@PanettonePazzo) November 13, 2024
