Paris: Far-right leaders slammed the decision of the Paris court concerning Marine Le Pen, leader of National Rally, being banned from running in the 2027 presidential election. A Paris court ruled this week that Le Pen, who has been a three-time presidential candidate, will be barred from running in the next presidential race following her conviction for embezzlement of European Union funds.
Le Pen, who was the frontrunner for the next election, received a four-year prison sentence with two years suspended, to be served under house arrest, and a €100,000 ($108,000) fine. Her party, National Rally, was also fined €2 million. The party denounced the trial as politically motivated, according to media reports.
In her first reaction to the verdict, Le Pen called the ruling a "political decision" aimed at preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential election. "It was a political decision that was made. The magistrate took it upon herself to implement the provisional execution of the ineligibility, to render my appeal on this matter useless in order to prevent me from standing and being elected President of the Republic," said Le Pen in an interview clip shared by her on X.
"The rule of law has been completely violated by the decision that has been made. It prevents an effective remedy, it justifies provisional execution by the fact of defending oneself, and it applies the spirit of a law subsequent to the facts with which we are accused," she wrote in an X post.
She stated she would not let herself be eliminated and would pursue all legal remedies. She assured to stand by the French people to defend them because she said that there are millions of French people who trust her.
Russia condemned the French court's decision to bar far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for office for five years, calling it a politically motivated attack on democratic norms.
