France's Marine Le Pen Condemns Election Ban as 'Democratic Scandal' as Trump, Other Right-Wing Leaders Express Support

Articles

Summary

US calls political exclusion ‘concerning’ after Le Pen barred from French election

A court’s decision to ban French far-right leader Marine Le Pen from seeking public office is “a very big deal,” U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday. “I know all about it and a lot of people thought she wasn’t going to be convicted for anything,” Trump said at a White House signing ceremony for an executive order intended to scrutinize certain practices of concert ticket resellers, where he was accompanied by the performer known as Kid Rock. In a bombshell verdict Monday, Le Pen, who is the leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, was found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds and barred from running for office for five years. The decision means she will likely be unable to run for French president in 2027.

Left

POLITICO

Here’s a look at the election ban on France’s far-right Le Pen and the legal issues

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has denounced as “a democratic scandal” the court ruling that placed a five-year ban on her seeking public office for embezzling European Union funds. The Paris court says it would be undemocratic to allow a convicted official to run for president. Monday’s decision takes effect immediately and could bar Le Pen from participating in France’s next presidential election in 2027...The ruling has reverberated beyond France, sending ripples through far-right circles across Europe and beyond after some parties, including Le Pen’s, have gained ground in recent years.

Middle

AP NEWS

Le Pen Vows to Fight Ban, Won't Allow French Election to Be 'Stolen'

In an unprecedented move, magistrates in Paris on Monday sentenced former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen to a five-year ban from standing for any political office in France after finding her guilty of embezzlement over the alleged use of European Union funds for her populist National Rally party at the EU Parliament for political activities in France. Crucially, the judges sided with demands for prosecutors to enact the ban immediately and for it to remain in place during any appeal, making it likely that the prohibition would remain in force during the 2027 presidential race to replace Emmanuel Macron, who will be term-limited from running again for the presidency.

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Breitbart

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News Results

As Le Pen’s presidential hopes hang in the balance, Bardella waits in the wings

Marine Le Pen banned from running for office for five years. Her National Rally (NR) party members found guilty of embezzling EU funds. Le Pen was widely considered the frontrunner for the 2027 presidency. Her 29-year-old protégé Jordan Bardella could well become the National Rally's new presidential candidate.

LEFT

22m ago

Marine Le Pen brought the far right to France’s front door

Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzling European Union funds. The sentence may have done more than just potentially remove her from the next presidential race. It may have ended the most sustained far-right bid for power in Western Europe since World War II. But the political movement Le Pen set in motion will rumble for years to come.

MIDDLE

46m ago

Marine Le Pen seems politically dead, but can the far right win in France without her? | CNN

“It’s my political death they want,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen claimed in November – a prediction that proved prescient, though few took it seriously at the time.

LEFT

10h ago

Le Pen's right-wing European allies condemn court verdict as threat to democracy

Le Pen found guilty of embezzling €2.9m; £2.5m of EU funds. She was banned from running for political office for five years. Many of her right-wing allies took to social media to express their support. But for Le Pen, this could be the death knell of her ambition to become president.

LEFT

50m ago

Paris Court will consider Le Pen appeal case by 2027 election

The far-right leader, who was convicted of embezzlement on Monday and banned from running for office, accused the political establishment of trying to scupper her bid for the presidency. #EuropeNews

MIDDLE

2h ago

Why Marine Le Pen should be allowed to run for president

Punish the offender without also punishing French democracy

MIDDLE

1h ago

Marine Le Pen's embezzlement conviction and prison sentence, explained

Marine Le Pen convicted of embezzlement of European parliament funds. Le Pen has received a four-year prison sentence, a €100,000 ($108,000) fine. She has been banned from standing for political office for five years, meaning she can’t run in the 2027 French presidential election.

MIDDLE

49m ago

Don't write Marine Le Pen off yet, writes JONATHAN MILLER

Marine Le Pen found guilty of embezzling EU funds. Sentenced to two years in jail and banned from running for office for five years. Sentence has infuriated 13 million voters who supported her party at the last election. It's a political earthquake for France: until yesterday, Le Pen was their strongest candidate.

RIGHT

50m ago

Trump compares himself to Marine Le Pen as he tears into France for barring her from politics: 'This is a big deal'

'That's a big deal. That sounds very much like this country,' Trump says of Le Pen's ban. Le Pen, 56, was found guilty of taking advantage of a loophole in the EU's rules to run a political campaign. She was banned from running for office for five years.

RIGHT

7h ago

Trump & State Department Slam France for Le Pen Ban—Expose Political Persecution

US President Donald Trump and the State Department have strongly condemned France’s decision to ban Marine Le Pen from running in the 2027 presidential election. The move follows a court ruling that sentenced her to prison after finding her guilty of embezzlement and misuse of EU funds.

RIGHT

7h ago

Outrage grows over Marine Le Pen's blocked presidential run

Marine Le Pen was convicted of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament, taking advantage of expenses to employ assistants who were actually working for her party in France. The hard-right matriarch was barred from running for office for five years and given a four-year prison sentence. Le Pen has already pledged to fight the court-imposed prohibition.

RIGHT

12h ago

Reporter's Notebook: Aftershock from a political 'earthquake' as Le Pen barred from presidential run in 2027

Right-wing politician Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement by a French court and barred from running for office for five years. Le Pen claimed that "the system" had used a "nuclear bomb" to thwart her attempts to become French president. Current polls had her winning the top job in a vote set for 2027.

RIGHT

3h ago