Summary
A French court found far-right leader Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzling over €3 million in EU funds, potentially ending her 2027 presidential bid.
The judge ruled Le Pen and 24 others misused European Parliament funds between 2004 and 2016 to pay National Rally party staff, calling it a deliberate scheme, not an error.
Prosecutors had sought five years’ prison and a public office ban. Even with an appeal, a provisional execution could bar her candidacy.
If she’s banned from running it will be the first instance of a western liberal country reacting appropriately to the resurgence of fascism. Good on France.
The appropriate reaction would be to ban them for being fucking fascists, not for some incidental crime they happened to commit.
Well, she still committed financial fraud. It’s more the judiciary doing its job. Sarkozy was also convicted after his presidency.
Yeah, if only other Western countries barred politicians from running or holding office if they’ve been convicted of a crime…