A Paris court has found French party leader Marine Le Pen guilty of the embezzlement of European Union funds - and now could face a ban from running for president.
The National Rally leader - along with eight other MEPs - were found guilty of using funds to pay off their party staff this morning.
All will be sentenced later today.
The prosecution pressed for Le Pen to be banned from public office for five years if she was found guilty - which means that she could be stopped from running for president altogether at the next French election in 2027.
The prosecuting team had also urged the leader to be slapped with a five-year-long jail sentence.
Such a sentence would spark significant upheaval in French politics.
Le Pen has thrice come out as a frontrunner in the nation's previous presidential elections against Emmanuel Macron - and has since announced that 2027 would mark her final bid for the presidency.
The ruling today has followed France's constitutional court declaring that local politicians can be banned from public office "with immediate effect" if they were found guilty of a crime.
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In total, Le Pen was found guilty of misappropriating €474,000, including contracts for her security Thierry Légier as well as her former staffer Catherine Griset.
“Catherine Griset worked for Marine Le Pen, but not as a member of parliament in Brussels,” the judge told the Paris criminal court earlier today.
So far, Le Pen's opponents have resisted imposing a ban on the party leader, including MP for radical Left party France Unbowed Éric Coquerel
He told LCI: "I don’t agree that things that should be decided by the ballot box are decided by the courts.
"It will only paint the National Rally as a victim."
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The National Rally leader - along with eight other MEPs - were found guilty of using funds to pay off their party staff this morning.
All will be sentenced later today.
The prosecution pressed for Le Pen to be banned from public office for five years if she was found guilty - which means that she could be stopped from running for president altogether at the next French election in 2027.
The prosecuting team had also urged the leader to be slapped with a five-year-long jail sentence.
Such a sentence would spark significant upheaval in French politics.
Le Pen has thrice come out as a frontrunner in the nation's previous presidential elections against Emmanuel Macron - and has since announced that 2027 would mark her final bid for the presidency.
The ruling today has followed France's constitutional court declaring that local politicians can be banned from public office "with immediate effect" if they were found guilty of a crime.
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In total, Le Pen was found guilty of misappropriating €474,000, including contracts for her security Thierry Légier as well as her former staffer Catherine Griset.
“Catherine Griset worked for Marine Le Pen, but not as a member of parliament in Brussels,” the judge told the Paris criminal court earlier today.
So far, Le Pen's opponents have resisted imposing a ban on the party leader, including MP for radical Left party France Unbowed Éric Coquerel
He told LCI: "I don’t agree that things that should be decided by the ballot box are decided by the courts.
"It will only paint the National Rally as a victim."
MORE TO FOLLOW...
Find Out More...