Le Pen Ruling Is a Stunner in France

A court ruling in France that bars far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for president in 2027 is a "political earthquake" for the nation, according to the Guardian. The sentiment is a familiar one: The AP similarly sees "an earthquake for French politics," the New York Times describes a "democratic crisis" in the nation, and the Wall Street Journal says the ruling "shakes the country's political landscape." The details:

• A French court convicted the 56-year-old Le Pen of embezzlement—not for enriching herself personally but for misusing EU funds to pay staffers with her National Rally party. Reuters has details on the case. "Incredible," Le Pen muttered in the court before walking out even as the judge continued detailing her punishment.

• Le Pen plans to appeal, meaning a four-year jail term (two years suspended, two to be spent at home) and a fine won't take effect until after the appeal plays out. However, the judge also applied a five-year ban on seeking public office thanks to a new corruption rule in France, and it takes effect immediately. "So broad were the political implications that even some of Le Pen's opponents reacted by saying that the Paris court had gone too far," per the AP.
• While Le Pen had unsuccessfully run for president three times previously on her anti-immigration, nationalist platform, she was—or is?—the frontrunner in the 2027 race to succeed Emmanuel Macron as president, notes the Times. She could conceivably get the ban overturned on appeal before the vote, but the timeline is tight.
• Supporters on the far right in France and elsewhere condemned the ruling. "Je suis, Marine," wrote Hungary Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "I am shocked by the incredibly tough verdict," said Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders. "I trust she will win the appeal and become president of France." Said Jordan Bardella, Le Pen's successor as National Rally president: "Today it is not only Marine Le Pen who was unjustly condemned: it is French democracy that was killed." Bardella could run in Le Pen's place in 2027, but he is not thought to have anywhere near her support.

(More Marine Le Pen stories.)