Le Pen Will Learn in March If She’s Banned From Next French Presidential Race
(Bloomberg) -- Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far-right National Rally party, will learn in March whether she faces a ban from running in the nation’s next presidential race.
Most Read from Bloomberg
In Traffic-Weary Toronto, a Battle Breaks Out Over Bike Lanes
New York City’s ‘Living Breakwaters’ Brace for Stormier Seas
As the Paris embezzlement trial of Le Pen and her party wrapped up on Wednesday, Paris judge Bénédicte de Perthuis announced that she plans to make a ruling on 31 March. In France, verdicts and sentences are announced on the same day. Le Pen denies any wrongdoing.
The prosecution earlier recommended that Le Pen be convicted of misappropriating European Union funds to finance party operations in France and sought an immediate ban from public office for five years. That would rule Le Pen out of the next presidential race in 2027, where she is seen as a favorite to succeed President Emmanuel Macron.
Le Pen’s lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, asked Paris judges to clear his client. He called the prosecution’s recommendations “a weapon of mass destruction of the democratic process” in his closing arguments on Wednesday.
Bosselut said the court’s decision would affect National Rally voters, “if not the entire French electorate, and even the sincerity of the ballot,” in reference to the more than 10 million people who voted for the party and its allies in legislative elections earlier this year. “That’s no minor matter.”
Le Pen and her party have seen a groundswell of support that culminated in an almost tripling their number of seats in parliament and securing a de facto veto over government policy.
But the Paris court case could jeopardize her plans to capitalize on that position and personally claim the French presidency, after finishing second to Macron in the 2017 and 2022 races.
Unless Paris judges order an immediately-applicable election ban, challenging the verdict would typically put the sentence on hold until all appeals are exhausted.
On Wednesday, Bosselut also pointed out to the judges that Le Pen regularly attended court hearings which took place over the past two months, despite her busy political agenda.
“She came just like those who know they are innocent.” Bosselut said. “She answered every question with sincerity. She didn’t sidestep a single one.”
--With assistance from Samy Adghirni.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Musk’s Team of Budget-Slashing MAGA Billionaires Takes Shape
What Happens When US Hospitals Go Big on Nurse Practitioners
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
