French prosecutors on Tuesday requested a five‑year ban on holding elected office for far‑right leader Marine Le Pen in her appeal trial in Paris, a move that could block her from running in the 2027 presidential election, The Associated Press reports.
Le Pen, 57, is appealing a March 2025 ruling that found her guilty of misusing European Parliament funds by employing aides between 2004 and 2016 who prosecutors say were actually working for her party. Prosecutors accused her of heading a “system" designed to “siphon off" EU public money for party use.
They also requested one year of house arrest with an electronic bracelet and a fine of 100,000 euros. A verdict is expected at a later date, possibly before the summer.
During the trial, which began last month, Le Pen admitted that some individuals carried out work for her party, then known as the National Front, while being paid as EU parliamentary aides, calling it “a mistake."
Prosecutor Thierry Ramonatxo said the alleged misuse of funds was “a very serious breach of probity" that gave the party “a concrete advantage in the form of substantial savings made at the expense of the European Parliament."
Another prosecutor, Stéphane Madoz‑Blanchet, described “a system" led by Le Pen. “The acts of misappropriation of public funds were deliberately and carefully concealed," he said, adding that it was “public money siphoned off drop by drop until it formed a river."
The appeal trial involves Le Pen, ten other defendants and the National Rally party as a legal entity. It is scheduled to continue until next week. Prosecutors emphasized the “seriousness of the facts" and asked the three‑judge panel to impose a ban on holding elected office.
Le Pen had been viewed as a leading contender to succeed President Emmanuel Macron in 2027 until last year’s ruling, which sent shock waves through French politics.
If she is ruled ineligible, she has already designated her 30‑year‑old protégé, Jordan Bardella, as her preferred successor in the presidential race.
In the 2022 election, Le Pen’s party recorded an extraordinary surge, winning 89 seats in the 577-member parliament, up from a previous total of eight.