France's Le Pen sentenced to jail, banned from public office
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right party, was handed a four-year prison sentence and banned from holding public office for five years by a court.
Far-right French leader Marine Le Pen was handed a four-year prison sentence and banned from holding public office for five years by a French court Monday, in what could be the biggest setback for her political cause in a generation.
Until this week, Le Pen had looked like the likeliest winner in France's next presidential election set for 2027, but she was found guilty Monday by a court of embezzling European Union funds.
When handing down the sentence, the court said the crimes committed by Le Pen, 56, warranted an immediate ban from public office, Reuters reported. The court also handed her a fine of 100,000 euros ($108,195).
Le Pen’s lawyer said she would appeal the verdict, but she will remain ineligible while she does and could therefore be ruled out of the 2027 presidential race. She was also sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, with two to be served under house arrest and two suspended.
Speaking to French TV channel TF1, Le Pen said that a ruling barring her from seeking public office is "political" and that it aims to keep her out of the race for France's top job. She added that millions of people were “outraged” about the verdict and that the ruling was a violation of the rule of law.
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