Unfortunately, it happened in France. Marine Le Pen, of the far-right National Rally party, was found guilty of embezzlement, and has been banned from running for office for five years. That rules her out of the 2027 presidential election.
Le Pen also faces a four-year prison sentence, two of which would be suspended, and a €100,000 fine (about $108,000), though both of those penalties will not be applied until her appeals are exhausted. The ban on running for political office takes effect immediately, regardless of appeals.
Some interesting reasoning from Bénédicte de Perthuis, the presiding judge in the case: “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.” You don’t say.
A host of ultra-conservative ghouls came out of the woodwork to decry the ruling. There was Geert Wilders, the Dutch far-right leader, saying he was “shocked” and that he expects her to win appeals and become president. Or Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, tweeting out “Je suis Marine!” With friends like these.
National Rally’s leader Jordan Bardella said that “it is French democracy that has been executed,” of the finding that Le Pen was part of a large conspiracy to steal European Parliament funds. The alternative, of letting a convicted criminal run for office as the face of a far-right, edging-towards-fascism party, surely would slide democracy out from under that particular guillotine blade. Surely.
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