French court upholds Le Pen’s conviction, putting 2027 presidential bid at risk

A Paris appeals court has upheld a fraud conviction against the leader of the far-rigth National Rally party, Marine Le Pen, threatening her 2027 bid for the presidency, Euronews writes.

The judge sentenced Le Pen to a 15-month ban from office, including one year wearing an electronic tag.

The first trial last year found Le Pen, along with 24 former European lawmakers, assistants and accountants, as well as the anti-immigration party itself, guilty of operating a system from 2004-2016 to use European Parliament funds to employ RN staff in France.

The court sentenced Le Pen to a five-year ban from public office and four years in prison, with two suspended.

Le Pen, meanwhile, rejects the accusations that her party had run a scheme to misuse European Parliament funds, claiming that it had become the target of a “witch hunt.”