Marine Le Pen, the far-right French politician and leader of the National Rally party, may face a threat to her bid in the upcoming French presidential election after prosecutors reportedly requested a ban on her participation in politics. CNN reported on Feb 17, 2023 that the request stems from an investigation into allegations of misuse of European Union funds by her party. If the court, which is still in the evidentiary phase of the trial, decides to honor the prosecutors’ request, Le Pen could be barred from public service, thereby nullifying her candidacy in the 2023 presidential election.
Le Pen and other members of her party are accused of unlawfully claiming millions of Euros in EU funding for parliamentary assistants who were allegedly working on non-related party assignments. They deny these accusations and claim that they are politically motivated. However, if proven guilty, Le Pen could face up to three years in prison, a €375,000 fine, and potentially a ban from political life.
From the same source, the court’s decision on whether to impose the ban is unlikely to happen before the presidential election scheduled for April. But if the ban were imposed after a possible Le Pen victory, it could create an unprecedented crisis.
It’s worth noting that Le Pen has faced legal troubles before. In 2023, she was charged for tweeting gruesome images of ISIS executions, which she said were meant to highlight the horrors of the group. She was cleared of those charges in 2021.
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