Voting frontrunner Le Pen, ahead of the 2027 vote, is also facing a potential prison sentence after being found guilty of embezzlement.
A French court found he was found guilty of embezzlement of French right-wing national Larry Marine Le Pen and issued a ban on operations to the office ending the expected bid for the 2027 presidency.
On Monday, a judge at the Paris Crown Court ruled that the party, the frontline of the vote ahead of the 2027 vote, is Le Pen, who will run for office for five years.
Le Pen was accused of using money intended as a parliamentary aide to the European Union to pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016 in violation of 27 bloc regulations.
Judge Benedict de Perteis said, “It was established that all these people were actually working for the party, that their (EU) lawmakers had given them nothing.”
“The investigation also showed that these are not administrative errors… but embezzlement within the framework of the system introduced to reduce costs for parties.”
She faces a prison for up to 10 years and a fine of 1 million euros ($1.12 million).
Prosecutors used so-called “interim implementation” measures to sought Le Pen to face a five-year ban from office if convicted, regardless of the appeal process.
Three-time presidential candidate Le Pen, 56, said 2027 will be his final run in the top office.
The defendant said the money is legally used and the allegations define something that Congressional assistants do too narrowly.
In an interview with La Tribune Dimanche released on Saturday, Le Pen said he was not nervous and expected mercy from the judges.
“With the interim executions, the judges have life and death power over our movement,” she said. “But I don’t think they’ll go that much.”
Known as the National Front from 1972 to 2018, the national rally is a right-wing populist and nationalist party.
Marin, who took leadership in 2012, softened the party’s image while maintaining a hawkish anti-immigration stance.
The party snaps to the heels of the centralist President Emmanuel Macron.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
James Larino, Chris Summers, Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to the report.
