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A French court found Marine Le Pen guilty on Monday in a case of embezzlement, but did not immediately say what his sentence could be and how the political future of the extreme right leader could affect.
Le Pen, sitting in the first row in the court of Paris, did not show an immediate reaction when the main judge read the verdict.
The judge also issued guilt verdicts to eight other current or previous members of his party who, as she previously served as legislators chosen in the European Parliament.
Le Pen and his coacked face up to 10 years in prison. They can appeal, which would lead to another trial.
The biggest concern for Le Pen is that the court can declare it inecegable to run for a “immediate” effect, even if it appeals. That could prevent it from running for president in 2027. She has described such a scenario as a “political death.”
The verdict was being formed as a resounding defeat for Le Pen and his group. In addition to finding her already eight other European legislators guilty of embezzlement of public funds, the court also issued guilt verdicts to 12 other people who served as parliamentary assistants for Le Pen and what is now the National Rally Party, previously the National Front.
The court ruling said that the Le Pen party operated “a system” to divert money from the EU Parliament.
Le Pen and another 24 officials of the national demonstration were accused of having used money allocated to the parliamentary assistants of the European Union to pay the personnel who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the regulations of the 27 nations block. Le Pen and his coacked denied irregularities.
Le Pen, 56, was the finalist of President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, and the electoral support of his party has grown in recent years.
During the nine -week trial that took place at the end of 2024, he argued that inelegability “would have the effect of depriving me of being a presidential candidate” and depriving his supporters.
“There are 11 million people who voted for the movement I represented. So tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French would be deprived of their candidate in the elections,” he told the panel of three judges.
If Le Pen cannot run in 2027, his apparent natural successor would be Jordan Bardella, the 29 -year -old protégé of Le Pen, who happened at the head of the party in 2021.
Le Pen denied the accusations that he was in charge of the system destined to divert the money from the EU Parliament to benefit his party, which led from 2011 to 2021. He argued that it was acceptable to adapt the work of the assistants paid by the European Parliament to the needs of the legislators, including some highly relative works related to the party, which was called to the National Front at the time.
The audiences showed that some money from the EU was used to pay the bodyguard of Le Pen, which was once his father’s bodyguard, as well as his personal assistant.
Prosecutors requested a two -year prison sentence and a five -year inevitability period for Le Pen.
Le Pen said they felt they were “only interested” in preventing it from running for president.
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