Marine Le Pen vows to fight election ban in attack on court’s ‘politician decision’ over embezzlement conviction

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Marine Le Pen attacked the decision of a court prohibiting her from standing for election after being convicted of eclipse of funds from the European Parliament.

The leader of the Right-wing National Rally (RN) maintained that she was innocent and promised to appeal an appeal against the ruling in a television interview a few hours after her conviction Monday.

After Le Pen was convicted, judges broke her out of public office for five years in a dramatic move, which means she won’t be able to stand for France’s presidential election in 2027.

Le Pen, who was a forerunner in the polls for the presidency, was also fined $ 100,000 and a four -year imprisonment, two years of which will be suspended and two more served with an electronic label.

“If it’s not a political decision, I don’t know what is,” Le Pen said in the TF1 interview.

Marine Le Pen she would fight the decision against her during an interview on TF1

Marine Le Pen she would fight the decision against her during an interview on TF1 (AFP via Getty Images)

She described the judgment of the court as “a political decision”, and she said that she would appeal against the ruling as soon as possible and demanded that she not allow her to “be taken out”.

She said: ‘There are millions of French people who believe in me. I’ve been fighting for you for 30 years.

“I’m telling you tonight, I’m not demoralized. Like you, I’m scanned, indignant, but this outrage, this feeling of injustice is an extra pressure on the battle I fight for them [the voters].

“Let’s be clear, I’m eliminated, but in reality the millions of French people whose voices have been eliminated.”

While the ban of public office is in effect immediately, it is understood that the prison sentence and fine will not come into effect until Le Pen has exhausted her appeal against the judge’s judgment.

And unless Le Pen overturned the sentence before the presidential election, she would not be able to stand.

Marine Le Pen Storm from the courtroom before the judge finished reading her sentence

Marine Le Pen Storm from the courtroom before the judge finished reading her sentence (Getty Images)

Jordan Bardella, who can replace Le Pen on the ballot in 2027 if she cannot run, said on X that Le Pen is “unjustly condemned” and that French democracy is “executed”.

Earlier in the day, in a moment of high drama, a furious Le Pen rose and rushed out of court by the ruling in court before being driven to the RN’s Paris Headquarters.

The decision was an extraordinary moment in French politics, with potentially seismic implications.

While Le Pen’s domestic and international allies – including the Matteo Salvini and Viktor Orban of Hungary – condemned the ruling, some of her political opponents also expressed discomfort.

“A very heavy weight on our democracy,” said the Republican Deputy of France’s National Assembly, Laurent Wauquiz, after the verdict.

According to the prosecution, Le Pen is one of a number of party officials accused of deriving about € 3m (£ 2.5m) from the European Parliament Funds to pay staff in France between 2004 and 2016.

Jordan Bardella, president of the RN, can replace Le Pen in 2027 on the ballot

Jordan Bardella, president of the RN, can replace Le Pen in 2027 on the ballot (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The RN, said, used Parliament as a ‘cash cow’.

But Le Pen and her co -accused said the money was legally used. Everyone denied ominous acts.

During the hearing of Monday, Judge Benedicte de Perthuis said: ‘It has been determined that all these people actually work for the party, that they [EU] Lawmakers gave them no tasks.

“The investigations also showed that these were not administrative errors … but eclipse within the framework of a system set to lower the cost of the party.”

Le Pen has worked for more than a decade to make her party more mainstream and tries to fade his extremist lead to broaden his attraction for voters.

She led the RN from 2011 to 2021. She changed his name of the national front, as part of her efforts to distance it from the period when her father, Jean-Marie, ran it and had a fierce stigma of racism and anti-Semitism.

She positioned herself as a candidate for Mr. To follow up Macron, after completing the runner -up for him twice.

In 2022, Mr. Macron won by 58.5 percent of the votes of the 41.5 percent of Le Pen – significantly closer than when they first faced in 2017 and the best score ever from the French far in a presidential bid.

The future of the party, and his chances of the 2027 election, is now hanging in the balance after the court ruling on Monday.

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