The political crisis in France intensifies after the conviction of Marine Le Pen - The leftist Mélenchon condemned as an undemocratic practice the deprivation of political rights of Marine Le Pen

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen believed respect for France's cherished institutions would open her path to the presidency, betting it would endear her once-fringe party to mainstream French voters.She launched the tactic after a resounding 2017 election loss to President Emmanuel Macron and it was working well until it unravelled on Monday,

Le Pen is barrred from running for public office for five years, with court also handing the far-right leader a four-year prison sentence, with two years suspended and two years’ home detention, and a €100,000 fine.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen faces one of the defining days of her political career on Monday, when a court rules whether she is guilty of embezzlement in a trial that could see her barred from the 2027 presidential race.

E VEN BEFORE the sentence was pronounced, Marine Le Pen swept out of the courtroom, her handbag dangling from her arm. The French hard-right leader had heard enough, and had reason to fear the worst.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen was convicted of embezzlement on Monday (March 31) and banned immediately for five years from running for public office, in a watershed moment that will rule her out of the 2027 presidential race unless she successfully appeals beforehand.

Marine Le Pen will file an appeal after a French court found her guilty of embezzlement charges and barred her from running for office for five years, her lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut said on Monday. (Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau;

France's Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for office for five years after being found guilty of misappropriating European funds to finance her far-right National Rally (RN) party. The momentous decision means Le Pen will likely not be able to stand in the 2027 French presidential election.

Judges convicted the far-right leader of misusing EU funds and barred her from running in the 2027 presidential elections.