Far-right leader Marine Le Pen fought Tuesday to keep alive her dream of winning the French presidency after a court handed her a five-year ban on running for office.
The sentence after being found guilty of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament on behalf of her National Rally (RN) party stunned Le Pen as the judge ordered the ban come into force with immediate effect. She had denied all the charges.
The punishment also came as a new thunderbolt to French politics and judicial authorities condemned threats made against the judges in the case.
If it stands, their verdict would mean that Le Pen would be unable to launch a fourth campaign for the presidency. Analysts said the 2027 election would be her best-ever chance.
In a TV interview, she remained defiant, insisting that there could still be time for an appeals court to overturn the verdict.
Should she be unable to stand, RN party leader Jordan Bardella, 29, would be the likely candidate. Le Pen says he has the “capacity” to be president.
In a febrile international climate, the verdict was condemned by the Kremlin, billionaire tycoon Elon Musk and hard-right European politicians ranging from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Geert Wilders of the Netherlands.
US President Donald Trump’s administration also weighed in with State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce saying: “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.”
Le Pen was also given a four-year prison term by the Paris court. Two years of the term were suspended and the other two would be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet.
Twenty-four people — including Le Pen — were convicted — all of them RN party officials or assistants.
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