French prosecutor seeks jail, election ban for Le Pen
3 Min Read
Marine Le Pen's trial risks undermining her party's efforts to clean up its image in preparation for the 2027 presidential election.
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French far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the courtroom for the trial over the suspected embezzlement of European Parliament funds on November 6, 2024, in Paris. (AP)
The Paris prosecutor has requested a five-year prison sentence and a five-year ban from political office for former far-right Narional Rally leader Marine Le Pen over an illegal party funding case.
Prosecutor Nicolas Barret called for the ban to take effect immediately after the verdict, preventing Le Pen from running for president in 2027, even if she appeals.
Marine Le Pen and over 20 other senior figures are accused of improperly assigning assistants to party work funded by the European Parliament. Le Pen, who denies the charges, called the request an "outrage" and accused the prosecution of trying to "ruin" her National Rally (RN) party.
"I think the prosecution's wish is to deprive the French people of the ability to vote for whom they want," she said after the hearing in the French capital, where she is on trial with 24 other defendants.
Le Pen, who was defeated by Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 presidential election with 58.55% to 41.45%, leads the largest party in France's National Assembly, the National Rally (RN). In addition to a five-year prison sentence and a ban from political office, prosecutors are seeking a €300,000 ($319,000) fine against her.
The proposed prison sentence is "convertible," meaning Le Pen may not necessarily serve time in prison, according to France's AFP news agency.
The prosecutor requested that the political office ban take effect immediately without being postponed during the appeals process, contrary to what some had anticipated. This ban would apply to all 25 defendants in the case. "The law applies to all," Mr Barret told the court.
Moreover, RN chairman Jordan Bardella, who is not involved in the case, denounced the prosecution's demands as an "assault on democracy" in a post on X.
"The prosecution is not acting justly," he said. "It is seeking to persecute and take revenge on Marine Le Pen."
Le parquet n’est pas dans la justice: il est dans l’acharnement et la vengeance à l’égard de Marine Le Pen.
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) November 13, 2024
Ses réquisitions scandaleuses visent à priver des millions de Français de leur vote en 2027. C’est une atteinte à la démocratie.
Tout mon soutien Marine.… pic.twitter.com/8V7aioZWSn
The trial is due to continue until November 27.
Last year in December, French prosecutors charged Le Pen and 26 other members of the National Rally (RN) party, formerly known as the National Front, with misusing EU money to pay for party operations in France.
The members were accused of putting up a scheme for embezzling EU funds to recruit people in France beginning in 2015, with prosecutors saying that National Front eurodeputies, including Le Pen, participated in the scam beginning in 2004.
Among those charged is Le Pen's father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, co-founder of France's most prominent far-right party. The charges involve jail penalties of up to ten years and fines of up to double the amount allegedly embezzled.
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