Marine Le Pen Banned from Election

A French court has banned Marine Le Pen, the leader of the country’s far-right party, from running for public office. The court has accused Le Pen of embezzling EU funds.

The Paris court ruled that Le Pen used more than 3 million euros ($3.3 million) in European Parliament funds to pay members of her party, the National Rally.

The judge in charge of the case ruled that Le Pen will not be allowed to run for president.

The ruling bans Le Pen from running for president in 2027, despite her leading position in opinion polls.

The court has not yet announced the length of the ban. Prosecutors have asked for the sentence to be extended for five years.

Le Pen has accused prosecutors of seeking her political death. Prison and a hefty fine are among the possible punishments for the leader of France's far-right party.

According to reports, Jordan Bardella is likely to replace Le Pen as the current leader of the National Rally.

Media reports suggest that Jordan Bardella is much younger and not as dominant a force in the party as Marine Le Pen.