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.

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.

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.