The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been found guilty of embezzling EU funds

A court in France has found far-right leader Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzling European Union funds and immediately banned her from running for public office. This could upend the French political landscape as the 2027 presidential election approaches.

A Paris court on Monday found French lawmaker and former National Alliance leader Marine Le Pen guilty of misappropriating European Parliament funds, Reuters reported. The court also immediately banned her from running for office, but the presiding judge has not said how long the ban will last. Prosecutors had previously called for Le Pen to be banned from running for office for five years, with immediate effect.

Le Pen appeared in court but left before the verdict was read. She has run for president three times and plans to run in the 2027 French presidential election and is currently well ahead in opinion polls, but the court's decision could spell the end of her hopes of running for the top job. Her parliamentary seat will remain until the end of her term.

Ms Le Pen accused prosecutors of trying to end her political career and said it was a plot to prevent the National Alliance from taking power.

After nearly a decade of investigation, the Paris Criminal Court opened the case on November 13 last year. Le Pen and 24 other party officials, executives and former MEPs and parliamentary aides were all charged with embezzling European Parliament funds between 2004 and 2016 to pay salaries to staff working for the National Alliance in France.

The court on Monday found Le Pen, eight other EU lawmakers and 12 parliamentary aides guilty of misappropriating EU funds. The defendants are not accused of pocketing funds, but of using EU funds for the benefit of political parties.

Le Pen sat in the front row of the courtroom and at times shook her head in disapproval of the judge's speech.

The National Alliance, formerly the National Front, was founded in 1972 by Le Pen's father Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Le Pen joined the National Front in 1986 and served as its deputy leader from 2003 to 2011. She first served as president of the National Front Party from January 2011 to April 2017, then again from May 2017 to September 2021, and changed the party's name to the National Alliance in 2018.