FRENCH COURT BARS FAR-RIGHT LEADER LE PEN FROM PUBLIC OFFICE

Mon 31 March 2025:

A French court has sentenced far-right leader Marine Le Pen to prison and prohibited her from running for public office after convicting her of misappropriating European Union funds. On Monday, the Paris court determined that Le Pen diverted over 3 million euros ($3.3 million) from the European Parliament to finance staff salaries within her National Rally (RN) party.

In the sentencing, the chief judge announced that the nationalist politician would not be allowed to run for office for five years, effective immediately. A four-year jail sentence was also imposed, with two years suspended and the remaining two to be served using an electronic tag rather than in custody.

Le Pen was also ordered to pay a fine of 100,000 euros ($108,000), while RN was issued with a 2-million-euro ($2.16m) fine.

“The court took into consideration, in addition to the risk of reoffending, the major disturbance of public order if a person already convicted … was a candidate in the presidential election,” said presiding Judge Benedicte de Perthuis.

The ruling threatens to push Le Pen out of the 2027 presidential race, in which she is currently the frontrunner, according to opinion polls.

The nationalist leader said the court’s decision was “political” and aimed to block her from the next election. Speaking to French TV channel TF1 in her first reaction to the verdict, Le Pen said that millions of French people “are outraged,” adding that the ruling was a violation of the rule of law.

Rodolphe Bosselut, her lawyer, said he would formally request that the appeal take place before 2027, setting the stage for a potentially lengthy legal battle.

The French High Council for the Judiciary said threats against magistrates after the Le Pen verdict cannot be accepted in a democratic society.

In a statement, the council expressed concern over the virulent reactions to the decision, saying those reactions could put the independence of the judiciary into question.

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Developed a political framework centered on opposing Muslim in France

Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s National Rally, has built a platform that critics say targets Muslims under the guise of defending French secularism and security. She proposes banning the hijab in all public spaces, calling it an “Islamist uniform,” claiming it clashes with France’s laïcité tradition.

She wants to close “radical” mosques and deport foreign imams she labels “hate preachers,” targeting groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Le Pen also pushes to strip dual nationals of citizenship and deport them if they’re linked to “Islamist ideology,” asking, “Why keep foreigners who threaten us?”

She’s suggested banning halal slaughter, tying it to animal welfare but aligning it with her anti-Islamist stance. Her rhetoric often frames Muslim immigrants as risks to French identity, like her 2010 comparison of street prayers to the Nazi occupation. While she claims to distinguish between extremists and moderates, her broad policies—like punishing “enemy ideologies”—could hit all Muslims, fueling accusations of discrimination.

These ideas, rooted in her party’s nativist history, aim to curb Islam’s visibility and influence in France, though they’d face legal pushback if enacted.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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