Politician Marine Le Pen, who announced her candidacy for the 2027 French Presidential elections, has been found guilty of misusing EU funds. The court directed corruption charges against Le Pen and 8 MEPs, stating that if the penalty is enforced without waiting for the appeal process, Le Pen may not be able to participate in the elections.

In France, politician Marine Le Pen, who announced her intention to run in the 2027 presidential elections, has been convicted in a case where she was accused of misusing European Union (EU) funds. The Paris Criminal Court announced its decision in a case that began last year, targeting the French politician Le Pen, who was also the main rival of French President Emmanuel Macron in the previous elections. The court found Le Pen, who announced her candidacy again for the 2027 presidential elections, and 8 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) guilty of corruption. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office is requesting the immediate enforcement of a 5-year ban from elections on the far-right leader instead of waiting for the appeals process to conclude. The prosecution had requested a 5-year prison sentence, 5-year ban from politics, and a fine of 300,000 euros for Le Pen. IF ENFORCEMENT OCCURS BEFORE APPEAL, SHE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BE A CANDIDATE

Some French legal experts believe that the recent decision of the Constitutional Court to impose a sentence on a local politician without exhausting the appeal process could also apply to Le Pen, who has been accused of misappropriating EU funds, and whose appeal process could take years to conclude. If judges order the enforcement of the penalty without waiting for the appeals process based on the ruling of the Constitutional Court, far-right Le Pen will be unable to run in the 2027 presidential elections. On the other hand, some legal experts argue that the decision of the Constitutional Court may be limited to local authorities and may not apply to Le Pen’s case. The Constitutional Court had ruled that it was legal for the Criminal Court to remove the former local-elected official in the French territory of Mayotte, Rachadi Saindou, who was convicted of misappropriating public funds, without waiting for the appeals process to conclude. INCIDENT

It is alleged that during Le Pen’s time as an MEP, she paid salaries from EU funds to two individuals for fictitious consultancy services. In France, some MEPs elected from the former National Front party, including Marine Le Pen, were investigated in 2015 for allegedly creating “fictitious employment” between 2004-2016 at the European Parliament (EP). The Paris Prosecutor’s Office had requested a trial against some MEPs of the party, including Le Pen and her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, for misusing EU funds and “concealing the offense”. In 2018, the formation, which changed its name to National Rally (RN), had its key figure and former presidential candidate Le Pen, along with her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, Louis Aliot, and Bruno Gollnisch among 27 party members, tried for misusing EU funds, a case that began in the Paris Criminal Court in September 2024.