Updated March 31, 2025 at 17:13 PM ET
PARIS — In a ruling that could reshape France's political future, a French court on Monday convicted far-right leader Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from running for public office for five years.
The decision effectively removes her from the 2027 presidential race, where she was seen as a leading candidate.
Le Pen, who says she will file an appeal, went on the French television broadcaster TF1 Monday evening where she criticized the ruling as a "political decision."
"The rule of law has been totally violated by this decision," she said, adding she would appeal "as soon as possible."
"Millions of French people are outraged," she said. "In France, the country of human rights, judges have applied the laws thought to apply only to authoritarian regimes."
Le Pen, who heads the National Rally (RN) party, was also sentenced to four years in prison — two years suspended and two under house arrest — along with a fine of €100,000 ($108,000).
She was convicted along with 24 other codefendants, including senior RN figures, in a case centered on allegations that they misused more than €4 million ($4.3 million) in European Parliament funds to cover RN party expenses between 2004 and 2016.
Even though Le Pen has vowed to appeal, the process could drag on for months or even years. Even if a retrial occurs before the 2027 presidential election, it remains uncertain whether the initial ruling would be overturned.
Jordan Bardella, RN president and Le Pen's political protégé, quickly denounced the ruling.
"Today, it is not only Marine Le Pen who has been unjustly condemned: it is French democracy that has been executed," he wrote on social media.
With Le Pen sidelined, Bardella is expected to step in as the RN's presidential candidate. While the 29-year-old has played a central role in broadening the party's support, questions remain about his experience and ability to appeal to a broad enough electorate to win a national race.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce drew parallels between the French court decision and President Trump's previous legal battles. "Exclusion of people from the political process is particularly concerning given the aggressive and corrupt lawfare waged against President Trump here in the United States," she told reporters in Washington. "We support the right of everyone to offer their views in the public square — agree or disagree."
Le Pen, 56, has been a dominant force in French politics ever since succeeding her father Jean-Marie Le Pen as RN party leader in 2012. She gained favor for broadening her party's appeal and moving it closer to the political mainstream.
A Journal du Dimanche poll released last Saturday indicated she was in a strong position for 2027, polling at 37% in favorable scenarios—10 points higher than her first-round result in 2022.
Far-right figures rally behind Le Pen
Around the world, far-right politicians swiftly condemned the ruling, portraying it as politically motivated persecution.
Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro told Reuters, "This ruling is clearly left-wing judicial activism. Wherever the right wing is present, the left and the system will work to get their opponents out of the game."
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán expressed his support for Le Pen, writing on social media: "Je suis Marine!" (I am Marine) — an echo of the "Je suis Charlie" slogan that emerged in support of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo after its employees were targeted in a deadly 2015 attack in Paris.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said, "More and more European capitals are going down the path of trampling over democratic norms," but said Russia did "not want to interfere in France's internal affairs."
Elon Musk also weighed in on the French court decision, posting on X: "When the radical left can't win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents."
Others welcomed the verdict.
Marine Tondelier, the head of France's Green Party, said Le Pen "must serve her sentence" because she is "subject to the law like everyone else."
Olivier Faure, with France's Socialist Party, echoed Tondelier's comments in a post on X, writing: "No one is above the law. Not even Marine Le Pen who until now defended lifelong ineligibility for elected officials who embezzle public funds. Marine Le Pen is not being silenced. She will continue to be a member of Parliament."
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