"French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has lost the latest round of her legal battle to overturn the ban on standing elections that was handed down after her conviction for embezzlement. On Wednesday, France's Conseil d'Etat rejected her appeal against being removed from the electoral list in the Pas-de-Calais area of north-east France, where she was a local councillor and remains an MP."
"In March 2025, Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement of public funds and sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were suspended, and a fine of €100,000, but without immediate enforcement on these points. She was accused of being at the heart of a system set up to pay party employees with European Parliament money, amounting to €4 million between 2004 and 2016."
Marine Le Pen has been removed from the electoral list in Pas-de-Calais after France's Conseil d'Etat rejected her appeal against that removal. She remains an MP but cannot stand in local or parliamentary elections if declared ineligible. Le Pen was convicted in March 2025 of embezzling public funds in a scheme that used European Parliament money to pay party employees, involving about €4 million between 2004 and 2016. She received a four-year prison sentence, two years suspended, and a €100,000 fine, subject to appeal. Her criminal appeal is scheduled from 13 January to 12 February 2026, and she has lodged a QPC with the Conseil constitutionnel on election bans while appeals are pending.
Read at The Local France
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