PARIS, March 31. /TASS/. Head of the National Rally’s parliamentary faction Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to four years in prison and the immediate loss of her electoral rights for five years, according to the ruling of a Paris court in the parliamentary assistants case.
Under the verdict, Le Pen will be required to wear an electronic bracelet for two of the four years. She has also been ordered to pay a €100,000 fine.
Due to her immediate disqualification from holding office, Le Pen will be unable to run in the 2027 French presidential election, according to BFMTV.
Le Pen was found guilty of embezzling funds intended for hiring assistants in the European Parliament.
In addition, the court convicted eight legislators and 12 parliamentary assistants, estimating the total funds involved at €4 million. It noted, however, that the guilty did not outright steal the money for themselves but rather directed the funds toward the party’s needs.
The investigation into embezzlement began in 2014, when the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) demanded that Le Pen reimburse €339,000. The politician was accused of using European Parliament funds to pay the salaries of her office head, Catherine Grisez, and security guard Thierry Legier, while they were still employed by her party. According to the investigation, Le Pen allegedly orchestrated a financial scheme whereby EU funds were embezzled under the guise of paying non-existent assistants in the European Parliament.
The head of the National Rally’s parliamentary faction categorically rejected the charges during the trial. Le Pen stated that the prosecutor’s demands were an attempt to dismantle the party.