The leader of the French far right Marine Le Pen is prevented from looking for a public service

PARIS (AP) – The chief of the extreme French, Marine Le Pen, left a French court while the chief judge prohibited him on Monday from requesting a public service after having been found guilty of embezzlement of EU funds.

The judge has not yet said how long Le Pen will not be eligible to present himself for a public service.

Le Pen did not wait to discover it. In a high drama moment, she got up and left, leaving the courtyard and then from the courthouse before she was driven out.

This is an update of news. The previous history of after follows below.

Paris (AP) – A French court discovered Marine Le Pen guilty Monday in a case of embezzlement but did not immediately say what could be her sentence and how she could have an impact The political future of the far -right leader.

Le Pen, Sitting at the forefront of the Court of Paris, did not show any immediate reaction because the chief judge declared him guilty. Later, she nodded several times in disagreement when the judge entered in more detail, saying that Le Pen’s party had illegally used money from the European Parliament to his own advantage. “Incredible,” she whispered at some point.

The judge also made the verdicts of guilt to eight other current or former members of his party who, like her, were previously the legislators of the European Parliament.

Le Pen and his co-accused are in prison up to 10 years in prison. They can appeal, which would lead to another trial.

The greatest concern for Le Pen is that the court can declare it ineligible to appear in the elections “with immediate effect” – even if it appeals. This could prevent her from presenting herself to the presidency in 2027. She described such a scenario as a “political death”.

The verdict promises to be a resounding defeat for Le Pen and his party. In addition to seeing it, she and eight other former European legislators, guilty of embezzlement of public funds, the court also made guilty verdicts to 12 other people who served as parliamentary aid for Le Pen and which is now the national Rallye party, formerly the National Front.

The chief judge, who read the decision rendered by her and two other judges, said that Le Pen had been at the heart of a “system” that his party used to siphon money from the EU parliament. The judge said the Pen and other co-accused were not enriched personally. But the decision described the embezzlement of funds as “a democratic puncture” which deceived Parliament and the voters.

Le Pen and 24 other officials of the National Rally were accused of having used money Intended for the parliamentary aid of the European Union to pay the staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, in violation of the Bloc rules in 27 countries. Le Pen and his co-accused have denied reprehensible acts.

Le Pen, 56, was a finalist to President Emmanuel Macron in the 2017 presidential elections and 2022, and the electoral support of his party has increased in recent years.

During the trial of nine weeks which took place at the end of 2024, it argued that ineligibility “would have the effect of depriving me of being candidate for the presidential election” and of depriving her supporters.

“There are 11 million people who voted for the movement that I represent. So, tomorrow, potentially, millions and millions of French people would be deprived of their candidate in the elections,” she told the panel of three judges.

If Le Pen cannot appear in 2027, his apparent natural successor would be Jordan Bardella, the 29 -year -old Le Pen protégé who succeeded him at the head of the party in 2021.

Le Pen denied the accusations that she was at the head of the system intended to siphon money from the EU Parliament for the benefit of her party, that she led from 2011 to 2021. She rather argued that it was acceptable to adapt the work of the aid paid by the European Parliament to the needs of the legislators, including certain political works related to the party.

Hearings have shown that EU money was used to pay the Le Pen bodyguard – which was once his father Gructoire of the body – as well as his personal assistant.

Prosecutors asked for a sentence of two years in prison and a period of ineligibility at five years for Le Pen.

Le Pen said that she thought they were “interested” in preventing him from presenting himself to the presidency.