The decision of the French court opens the way that the Pen is prohibited from going to the presidency – politico

The prosecutors of the Le Pen case had asked a panel of three judges to prohibit it from the elections for five years and immediately execute this part of the sentence, even if it had to appeal, instead of waiting for all calls to be concluded.

As a rule, in France, the sanctions are not taken as long as all calls have been exhausted, because the presumption of innocence continues to apply. The process can take years.

If the court follows the recommendations, Le Pen may be forbidden to run for the presidential elections provided for 2027.

Judges should make a verdict in the case of Le Pen on Monday.

Le Pen, as well as 24 co-accused and his party, the national rally, were accused of embezzlement of the European Parliament by hiring parliamentary assistants to work on the affairs of the parties instead of EU affairs. All professed their innocence.

The case which was presented to the Constitutional Court concerns Rashadi Saindou, a former local official of Mayotte, a French territory abroad. Saindou was dismissed from his duties after being found guilty of embezzlement of public funds in 2024. However, the lawyers of Saindou argued that the court had deprived the voters of their constitutional right to freely elect their leaders by removing him from his functions before being able to appeal.