French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for public office for five years – derailing her bid to run in the next presidential election.
The National Rally leader, who left court before the verdict was read out, was found guilty in an embezzlement case.
She was also given a four-year jail sentence, with two years suspended and two which will be served with an electronic tag. She is not expected to serve any jail time.
Le Pen, who also received a €100,000 (£83,635) fine, will make an appeal against her conviction, her lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut later said.
The 56-year-old is a three-time presidential contender who has previously said the next election in 2027 would be her final run for top office.
The ban, which comes into force immediately, ends those hopes unless she successfully appeals before the campaign.
Le Pen and 24 other National Rally officials were accused of diverting more than €3m (£2.51m) of European Parliament funds to pay France-based staff working for her party between 2004 and 2016.
The judge also handed down guilty verdicts to eight other current or former members of Le Pen’s party who, like her, previously served as MEPs in the European Parliament.
Another 12 people, who served as parliamentary aides for Le Pen and her party, were also handed guilty verdicts.
The ruling at a court in Paris described the embezzlement as “a democratic bypass” that deceived the parliament and voters.
Marine Le Pen latest updates
Image: Le Pen at the court in Paris. Pic: Reuters
Sitting in the front row, Le Pen showed no immediate reaction as the chief judge read the verdict.
Judge Benedicte de Perthuis ruled: “It was established that all these people were actually working for the party, that their (EU) lawmaker had not given them any tasks.
“The investigations also showed that these were not administrative errors … but embezzlement within the framework of a system put in place to reduce the party’s costs.”
Image: Le Pen leaves the court before being driven away. Pic: Reuters
Le Pen left the court before the completion of the verdict and sentencing and did not address the media outside before being driven away in a car.
She had denied accusations she was at the head of “a system” meant to siphon off EU funds to benefit her party.
Hearings revealed how some EU money was used to pay for Le Pen’s bodyguard – who was once her father’s bodyguard – as well as for her personal assistant.
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The defendants denied any wrongdoing and claimed the money was used legitimately.
The nine-week trial took place at the end of last year.
Le Pen has been seen as one of the leading contenders to succeed President Emmanuel Macron at the end of his second and final term.
She was the runner-up to Mr Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.
Reacting to the verdict, National Rally president Jordan Bardella said: “Today it is not only Marine Le Pen who was unjustly condemned: It was French democracy that was killed.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia does “not want to interfere in France’s internal affairs” but added: “More and more European capitals are going down the path of trampling over democratic norms.”
Marine Tondelier, the national secretary for the Green Party in France, said: “Marine Le Pen must serve her sentence. She is a defendant like any other.”
Le Pen also serves in France’s National Assembly – but there is no impact on the role by the court’s ineligibility ruling.
However, if parliament was dissolved for elections, she would not be able to stand.
Le Pen’s political decline could be long and painful
Marine Le Pen’s political career lies in tatters.
After decades of plotting her ascent to the very pinnacle of French politics, she has now been pushed down the mountain, and her fall could be long and painful.
Le Pen, who had been the narrow favourite to win the 2027 French presidential election, will now be banned from running as part of a criminal conviction.
She, along with politicians and assistants from her RN party, has been found guilty of embezzlement – of taking millions of euros that were supposed to support work in the European Parliament and, instead, funnelling it to the party’s work elsewhere.
Le Pen will almost certainly appeal, but her ban has already come into effect.
She left the court shortly before her punishment was announced, heading towards her party’s headquarters for a meeting with its president, Jordan Bardella – the man most likely to take her place.
“Today, it is not just Marine Le Pen who is being condemned unjustifiably,” said Mr Bardella. “It is French democracy that is being executed.”
Her downfall will be welcomed by some in France as a sign that politicians are not above the law.
Others, though, have already bemoaned the fact that a court has been given the power to disbar one of the nation’s most popular political leaders.
It hasn’t taken long for the court’s decision to be politicised.
The Kremlin talked about European countries “trampling democratic norms”. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban put out a short statement of support saying “Je Suis Marine”.
Assuming that Le Pen does not win her appeal, the favourite to win the 2027 election may now be Edouard Philippe, the former prime minister.
Bardella may benefit from being Le Pen’s anointed successor but he is, at 29, extremely youthful – a full decade younger than anyone who has ever won the presidency.
