Le Pen found guilty of misappropriating EU funds – The Telegraph.

Marine Le Pen and Members of the European Parliament convicted of misappropriating EU funds

Leader of the right-wing populist National Rally, Marine Le Pen, and eight Members of the European Parliament have been found guilty of misappropriating European Union funds, reports Glavkom citing The Telegraph.

Information that Marine Le Pen and Members of the European Parliament abused EU funds to pay their party workers came from a court in Paris. As a result, Le Pen may be banned from engaging in political activity in France.

According to the ruling made early this morning, the sentence in the case of Marine Le Pen and her party colleagues is set to be announced later today.

As for the charges, the prosecutor demanded a five-year prison sentence for Le Pen and a five-year ban on holding state positions, which would prevent her from running for president in 2027 to replace Emmanuel Macron.

If such a decision comes into force, it will change the political situation in France since Marine Le Pen has already reached the second round in presidential elections twice and is considered one of the main candidates for the presidency in the future.

The investigation into Marine Le Pen began in July 2024 when suspicion arose regarding the illegal financing of her presidential campaign in 2022, as well as damage to the European Union.