The end of Marine Le Pen's political career?

On Monday morning (31.03.2025) in Paris, the political future of Marine Le Pen was decided, at least for now. The Criminal Court in the modern building of the French capital handed down the decision: For the next five years, the very popular right-wing nationalist politician will not be allowed to run for political office. The decision is effective immediately.

This means the end of her political ambitions to succeed French President Emmanuel Macron in 2027. While she was leading in the latest polls for the upcoming presidential election, Marine Le Pen has run for the highest office in France three times, she will not be able to run for a fourth time, at least not in 2027.

Along with a dozen other defendants, working for the "Rassamblement National (RN)" party, Marine Le Pen was found guilty of misappropriation of public funds.

Specifically, the accusation concerned the false employment of parliamentary employees in the EU Parliament, who in fact worked wholly or partly for the party in France. The aim was not for the personal benefit of the accused, but "for the benefit of the party", the chief judge emphasized during the ruling.

Court: Marine Le Pen "at the center" of a fake employment system
Le Pen, president of the RN from 2011 to 2022, was "at the center" of this operation, according to the judge. In total, it is a matter of several million euros between 2004 and 2016. For her role, the panel sentenced the politician, who was herself a member of the European Parliament in 2017, to four years in prison - of which two years are suspended and two years under house arrest. She must also pay a fine of 100,000 euros.

Le Pen did not hear these details of the sentence again. After the judge announced that the sentence also included the restriction of the passive right to vote with immediate effect, Le Pen left the courtroom. She made her rejection of this judicial decision clear from the beginning by shaking her head repeatedly.

The decision was a bombshell
In Paris, the decision was received like a bombshell. RN leader Jordan Bardella, who is also considered a possible presidential candidate, called for a "peaceful mobilization" with an online petition. According to him, the decision is a "democratic scandal." There was also criticism from other political camps. Leftist politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon wrote, "the dismissal of an elected representative should be up to the people."

In addition to criticism from Russia and the US, there were also other critical reactions from the European right-wing camp. Dutchman Geert Wilders reacted "shocked" by the decision, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed his solidarity by posting on the X platform "Je suis Marine!".

Le Pen's lawyer says he will appeal the decision
Shortly after the verdict, Le Pen's lawyer said he would appeal the decision. However, it seems practically impossible that anything will change regarding the disqualification from the elections, legal historian Pierre Allorant from the University of Orleans told DW. According to him, Le Pen's only chance is if the appeal process is concluded quickly.

However, the decision in the appeal process would be given shortly before the presidential election and in this case it makes no sense to change the candidate. It is also impossible to predict what the appeals court might decide. Le Pen is a member of the French National Assembly and could remain in office until the end of her term.

In her first reaction to the ruling on French television, Le Pen called the decision "political" and reiterated her innocence. The court, she said, wanted to explicitly ban her from running in 2027. Le Pen said she would work for a swift appeal process so she could run. Although she herself considers the chances to be slim. /DW (A2 Televizion)