A French court of appeal confirmed last week that Marine Le Pen was guilty of orchestrating a scheme to embezzle public funds for over a decade. The far-right leader's party, the National Rally (RN), formerly the National Front, created fake jobs for MEP assistants, funneling EU salaries to support party activities in France. The deception lasted from 2004 to 2016.
The court sentenced Le Pen to three years in prison, with two years suspended and one year under electronic monitoring, and fined her €100,000. She was also declared ineligible for public office for 45 months, with 30 months suspended. However, she has appealed to France's highest court, delaying the electronic tagging. Hours after the ruling, she launched her campaign for the 2027 presidential election.
The scale of the embezzlement
The scheme involved 28 defendants, including Marine Le Pen and her late father Jean-Marie Le Pen. According to the court, the scam was carried out under Le Pen's decisive impetus. The European Parliament initially suspected €4.9 million was misappropriated, with €2.8 million proven misused. The RN as a legal entity was fined €2 million, half suspended.
The case is unprecedented in French political history. The court's 341-page decision described the offenses as grave, citing their duration over three parliamentary terms and the systematic nature of the misconduct.
Hypocrisy of the National Rally
Le Pen's party has long campaigned under the slogan "Clean hands and heads held high," presenting itself as a bastion of integrity. In 2013, Le Pen publicly demanded lifetime bans from office for elected officials convicted of offenses. Yet, even as she declared her hands "immaculate," the fake jobs scheme was running.
According to Rokhaya Diallo, a French journalist and columnist, the focus on Le Pen's presidential ambitions has eclipsed a necessary discussion about her legitimacy. Diallo argues that a politician convicted of such serious offenses should not be allowed to seek office. French law allows up to 10 years' ineligibility for embezzlement, but the court showed leniency.
Double standards in sentencing
Diallo points out that in other professions, a criminal conviction would result in disqualification. For example, in 2022, a mayor who embezzled €19,240 was permanently barred from public employment and disqualified for five years. Le Pen's case involves far larger sums, yet she remains free to campaign.
The RN's rhetoric on crime and immigration is contradicted by its own actions. Diallo notes that it is not immigrants living off France, but the party's leaders who diverted public funds. Le Pen has never expressed remorse or apologized for betraying republican values.
Impact on French politics
Since 1988, no French presidential election has occurred without a Le Pen on the ballot. The guilty verdict places the RN in a contradictory position, undermining its claims to defend law and order. The debate should shift from whether Le Pen will run to whether she has any legitimate right to hold public office.
