French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement on Monday and handed an immediate five-year ban from public office.
The sentence effectively bars her from running in the 2027 presidential race unless she successfully appeals beforehand.
The ruling is a major setback for Le Pen, 56, who heads the National Rally (RN) and is a front-runner in opinion polls.
Le Pen and two dozen RN party figures were accused of diverting more than 4 million euros of European Parliament funds to pay France-based staff. They had argued the money was used legitimately and that the allegations had defined too narrowly what a parliamentary assistant does.
Judge Benedicte de Perthuis said Le Pen had been “at the heart” of the scheme.
Her removal from the race is likely to spark a debate over how judges wield power in politics.
Defeated by President Emmanuel Macron in 2017, she has worked on softening her image, and brought her party towards the political mainstream, shedding her image as an anti-system opponent. Her RN party is the biggest in the National Assembly.
The judges also gave Le Pen a four-year prison sentence- of which two years are a suspended sentence – and a 100,000 euro fine. She is likely to appeal.
Her five-year ineligibility sentence kicks in immediately, via a so-called “provisional execution” measure requested by prosecutors. It will only be lifted if any appeal is upheld before the election. She keeps her parliamentary seat until her mandate ends.
RN President Jordan Bardella and Le Pen’s 29-year-old right-hand man, now looks set to become the party’s de facto candidate for the 2027 election.
