ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
People in France are reeling from what many are calling a political earthquake. A Paris court has found Marine Le Pen and members of her far-right National Rally party guilty of embezzling millions in European Union funds. The verdict bars her from running for office for the next five years, effectively forcing her out of the 2027 presidential race where she was the front-runner. Joining us from Paris to break it all down is NPR's Rebecca Rosman. Hi there.
REBECCA ROSMAN, BYLINE: Hi.
SHAPIRO: Le Pen just spoke on the French private TV channel TF1. What did she say?
ROSMAN: She did not mince words. She called this a strictly political decision and accused the courts of trying to stop her from becoming president in 2027. Let's just listen to some of what she had to say.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARINE LE PEN: (Speaking French).
ROSMAN: So she's saying, "tonight there are millions of French people who are indignant that in France, which is the country that is known as the birthplace of human rights, judges have implemented practices thought to be reserved for authoritarian regimes." This is a devastating blow, not just to her reputation, but to her long-held presidential ambitions.
SHAPIRO: Tell us more about the charges that she's been convicted of and what they mean.
ROSMAN: So Le Pen and 24 others, including senior members of her own party, were accused of misusing over $4 million in EU funds - money meant for parliamentary work that was instead used to pay party staff in France, which the court ruled was embezzlement. She was sentenced to four years in prison, two suspended, and fined $108,000. But most crucially, she's been banned from running for office for five years. And the party was also ordered to pay a just-over-$2 million fine. I spoke with Jean-Yves Camus, a political analyst who specializes in the far right. He called this ruling unusually harsh.
JEAN-YVES CAMUS: I mean, the court gave a very, very harsh verdict because they could sentence her to, let's say, one year or two years. They chose five. Five is way beyond the election.
ROSMAN: You know, even with an appeal, the French legal system moves slowly. The next election is in 2027. The earliest start for an appeal would be in 2026, but because this is such a complex case, it's likely to take so long she won't be able to run.
SHAPIRO: Well, we heard Le Pen say millions of French people are indignant. Tell us more about the reaction there in France.
ROSMAN: Yeah. Many people, especially her supporters, are shocked. The decision has upended the 2027 race. A poll published just last weekend showed Le Pen as the clear front-runner, with 37% of the vote, 10 points ahead of her closest rival. And now Le Pen's allies are furious. The National Rally's president, Jordan Bardella, called this an attack on democracy. You have far-right leaders from abroad, like Hungary's Viktor Orban and Italy's Matteo Salvini, who have voiced support for her. Even some opponents, like far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and conservative MP Laurent Wauquiez have expressed concerns about this ruling, with Wauquiez warning this ruling puts a, quote, "heavy weight" on French democracy. Others, including the head of France's Green Party, have applauded the verdict, however, stating no one, not even Le Pen, is above the law.
SHAPIRO: And is this the end of Le Pen's party or of her political career?
ROSMAN: So her party is going to have to find a new candidate for the presidential race. The most likely replacement is Jordan Bardella. He's popular within the party, but he's also only 29 years old and has little elected experience. So there's some question about his broader appeal. As for Le Pen, this is a huge setback for her. 2027 would be her fourth attempt at the presidency. But Bardella has called this decision a democratic scandal, saying the decision represented, quote, "a dictatorship of judges trying to prevent the French people from making their voice heard."
SHAPIRO: NPR's Rebecca Rosman, thank you.
ROSMAN: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHESSBOXER'S "I CAN'T TELL MY SECRET WEAPON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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