On March 31st local time, the Paris Criminal Court ruled that Marina Le Pen, the leader of the far right French political party, the National Union, was guilty of embezzling EU funds. The court sentenced him to 4 years in prison, including 2 years of probation, 2 years of wearing electronic handcuffs for execution outside the prison, and a fine of 100000 euros. In addition, Le Pen has been banned from running for public office for the next 5 years, and the ruling will take immediate effect, meaning she will not be able to participate in the 2027 French presidential election. 鈥�

After the verdict was announced, Le Pen responded through a live television interview program, condemning the verdict as a "political decision", claiming her "innocence", and stating that she would appeal and "take all legal means" to protect her rights. Le Pen also emphasized that he "will never" withdraw from politics. 鈥�

After the news came out, the international community reacted strongly. On March 31, US President Trump responded by stating that this was a "big deal" and that "many people thought she wouldn't be convicted, she was banned from running for five years, and she was the leading candidate." Trump also compared Le Pen's legal dilemma to the prosecution he faced before regaining power. Bloomberg pointed out that Trump's remarks may exacerbate the already tense relationship between the United States and some European allies. 鈥�

Musk, who supports far right political forces in Europe, also spoke out on social media, believing that this ruling would have the opposite effect, similar to the legal attack on Trump, criticizing the abuse of the legal system to imprison opponents when the radical left cannot win through democratic elections. 鈥�

When asked about this matter, Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the US State Department, did not directly comment on the Le Pen case. Instead, he mentioned Vice President Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference in February this year criticizing Europe's infringement of "freedom of speech," stating that "the exclusion of people from the political process is particularly concerning given the radical and corrupt legal war launched by the US against President Trump. 鈥�

The court found that during her tenure as a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2016, Le Pen illegally diverted funds originally intended for European Parliament assistants to pay salaries to her party staff, resulting in a total loss of 474000 euros in public funds. More than 20 defendants who were tried together with her were also found guilty, with sentences ranging from 6 months to 4 years, and the National Union was also fined 2 million euros. 鈥�

In September 2024, Le Pen and others were tried in court for allegedly misappropriating EU funds. At the time, Le Pen insisted that the assistants she hired were indeed working for her and that she had not committed any illegal acts. The voting intention survey released by the French Public Opinion Research Institute (Ifop) on the 31st showed that 34% to 37% of respondents plan to support Le Pen in the first round of voting in the next French presidential election, which is more than 10 percentage points higher than her support rate in the previous election in 2022. 鈥�

At present, although Le Pen has expressed her intention to appeal, she will not be able to run unless she can successfully appeal before the 2027 presidential election due to the longer trial period of French appeal cases and the continued validity of the election ban during the appeal period. This verdict not only dealt a significant blow to Le Pen's personal political career, but may also have far-reaching implications for the future development of the far right French political party, the National Union, and even the 2027 French presidential election landscape.