French court strips Marine Le Pen of her local mandate

 

French court strips Marine Le Pen of her local mandate

 

The decision is another reminder of how the far-right leader’s judicial woes are affecting her political career.

 

June 4, 2025 5:26 pm CET

By Clea Caulcutt

https://www.politico.eu/article/french-court-strips-marine-le-pen-far-right-local-mandate/

 

PARIS  — A French court ruled Wednesday to strip Marine Le Pen of her role as a local representative in the northern region of Pas-de-Calais as a result of being found guilty of embezzling public funds.

 

While the court ruling in the northern city of Lille has little impact on Le Pen’s standing nationally or her role as a member of parliament, it’s another reminder of how her judicial woes are impacting her political career as doubts swirl about whether she will be able to run in the presidential election in 2027.

 

The far-right leader and 24 other codefendants were found guilty in March of siphoning an estimated €4 million of European Parliament funds to illicitly finance party activities. Le Pen was handed an immediate five-year ban from running for public office, dealing a near-fatal blow to her presidential ambitions.

 

Defendants in France typically see punishments temporarily lifted by appealing a verdict, at which point in the judicial process they return to being presumed innocent. However, the prosecutors in Le Pen’s case argued — and the judges agreed — that her crimes were so grave that her ban on running for public office should be handed down immediately, regardless of whether she appeals.

 

Le Pen has appealed the decision and a verdict in that case is expected by summer 2026, though chances of the court overturning it are slim.

 

In the meantime, Le Pen is battling hard to keep her fourth presidential bid alive. While National Rally figures deny there are any tensions within the party, the relationship between Le Pen and her heir apparent, party President Jordan Bardella, appears increasingly strained.

 

In the case of her local mandate in northern France, Le Pen has decided to appeal the court’s ruling — meaning that punishment will be stayed and she will keep her role as a regional councilor representing the small town of Hénin-Beaumont for the time being.

 

“Mrs. Le Pen has decided to appeal this ruling … because it prevents her from representing the voters of the Hénin-Beaumont constituency, for whom she has been fighting for many years, and she is still presumed innocent,” read a statement from her lawyer Thomas Laval.

 

Sarah Paillou contributed to this report.