Who is Marine Le Pen and why has she been barred from seeking public office in France?

A ruling by a French court this week sent shockwaves through the European far-right and could have wide-ranging repercussions in the Gallic nation’s politics. Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement and barred from seeking public office for five years, most likely dashing her hopes to run for president in 2027. After hearing the verdict, the 56-year-old politician muttered “incredible” and walked out of the court before the full sentence was announced.

In addition to the five-year ban, she was also sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were suspended and the other two to be served under home detention, as well as a € 100,000 fine. She said in a post-trial interview that she was innocent and that she would appeal. While that will put the prison sentence and fine on hold, it will not suspend the five-year public office ban, although she can remain in her parliamentary seat until the end of her current term.

What is Marine Le Pen convicted of?

Le Pen was “at the heart” of a scheme to misappropriate over €4 million ($4.3 million) of European Union funds said the Judge overseeing the case, Benedicte de Perthuis. She, along with 24 other party officials, were accused of having used the money to pay the far-right party’s staff back home instead of EU parliamentary aides as the funds are intended.

Judge de Perthuis said that the immediate ban on standing for public office was given because of the lack of remorse shown by Le Pen and other defendants. That decision has drawn rebuke from other far-right leaders in France and allies in Europe and abroad.

While she can appeal the ban, appeals in France can take months or even years, which means that her fourth run for the presidency in 2027 is most likely a no-go. Her protégé, Jordan Bardella looks set to become de facto candidate for the National Rally, formerly the National Front (FN), in her stead.

But the ruling will also “reshuffle the pack, particularly on the right,” reports Reuters in the opinion of Arnaud Benedetti, a political analyst who called the ban a watershed moment. Le Pen’s party has been gaining electoral support in recent years, and she was the runner-up to Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.

Who is Marine Le Pen?

Le Pen was born August 5, 1968, in Neuilly-sur-Seine just west of Paris. Jean-Marie Le Pen, her father who passed away in 7 January 2025, was the founder of the National Front party which changed its name to National Rally (Rassemblement national) in 2018. The move was made in a bid to shed the racism and anti-Semitism associated with the party by many voters as well as facilitate alliances with other parties.

The prminent far-right leader, received a Master of Laws in 1991 and a Master of Advanced Studies (DEA) in criminal law in 1992, both from Panthéon-Assas University. After university Le Pen worked as a lawyer from 1992 to 1998 when when she joined the then-National Front’s juridical branch.

That same year, Le Pen was elected regional councilor in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais. She became a member of the European Parliament in 2004, a seat she held until 2017. After moving through the ranks of the FN, Le Pen succeeded her father as the leader of the party in 2011.

Le Pen made her first run for president of France in 2012, placing third. She lost in the second round of voting in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections. Le Pen said that 2027 race was going to be her last to capture the Élysée Palace.

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