Marine Le Pen's Embezzlment Scandal: Judicial Tyranny or Democratic Justice

Emmanuel Macron, current President of France (right), Opposition Leader Marie Le Pen of the National Rally (left), Jordan Bordella, Heir-Apparent to the National Rally (center). Source: Author

Last Sunday, in an atmosphere coated in revolutionary temper, the Hôtel de Invalides in Paris became a rallying point for members of the National Rally (NR)–France’s far-right opposition party–to hear its leader, Marie Le Pen, speak after a Parisian criminal court found her guilty of embezzling public funds. “This decision has trampled on everything I hold most dear: my people, my country, and my honor,” the figurehead stated to a crowd of flag-waving supporters. The verdict, announced on Monday, effectively barred the current front-runner in the 2027 presidential election from participating in it, an extraordinary precedent but one the presiding judge, Bénédicte de Perthuis, felt was necessary. No one, according to the judge, was entitled to “immunity in violation of the rule of law.” The court also sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison, two years suspended, and a fine of over €100,000. Le Pen has naturally denied any wrongdoing, acting swiftly to attack the already weak government and painting the verdict as a threat not only against her populist party but to French democracy itself. With the case sweeping through French political life like a thunderstorm, she may be able to turn public support her way.

For most onlookers following this case, the verdict is not unreasonable. The criminal court that tried Marie Le Pen stated that she had played a ‘central role’ in using the equivalent of nearly 5 million USD in European Parliament funds for party expenses between 2004 and 2016. Most of these funds were made up of taxpayer money, allocated to members of the European Parliament to pay for their assistants based in Strasbourg or Brussels. Instead, at a time when the party was short on cash, it siphoned off parts of the fund to pay its workers in France. The red flag in this case centers around the fact that the NR’s French-based staff had no connection to any EU-related business. The court ruled that when Le Pen was a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2017, she contributed to the illegal scheme. Given the seriousness of the case, the accused seems unwilling to acknowledge the facts. Le Pen herself was not around to hear the chief judge pronounce the sentence that threw her career into a tailspin. By then, she had already strode out of the courtroom, disregarding the verdict as a witch hunt. Her likely successor, Jordan Bardella, responded, “It’s not just Marine Le Pen who has been unjustly condemned, but French democracy that has been put to death.”

Le Pen, the current face of France’s far-right, became leader of the National Rally (then called the National Front) in 2011 after taking over from her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Having served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) since 2009, the takeover shifted her focus to national politics where she carried out a campaign of ‘de-demonisation’ to soften the party’s image. This transition included publicly rejecting her father’s antisemitic and racist viewpoints while liberalizing many of the National Rally’s historic policies, namely easing its opposition to same-sex partnerships. Even though the party’s tone has changed, Le Pen’s platform is still staunchly hard right. Her policies, nationalistic in nature, include using more severe measures to curb immigration. Having run for the Presidential office three times to no avail, Le Pen has steadily increased her popularity within the country, so much so that she poses as the main opposition leader against President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance Party. In 2015, Time Magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Just a year later, Politico named her the second most influential member of the European Parliament (MEP). 

In the last presidential election in 2022, she won 41.5% of the vote, up from 33.9% in the previous election five years earlier. Last year, the National Rally became the biggest single party in the National Assembly (lower house of the Parliament) for the first time. The recent scandal seeks to destroy this reputation that has been meticulously built over the years. 

The ruling itself does not strip Le Pen of her seat in the National Assembly, but to be able to run for President in 2027, she will have to secure a more favorable ruling on appeal before the deadline to enter the race. The Parisian Justice system is slow-moving, so a successful appeal could take some time. The ruling does not bar Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 29-year-old protégé, from running for President in her absence. This is unlikely, though, as Le Pen is universally worshipped within her party. None of her allies appear ready to tell her that endorsing Bardella now, rather than waiting for the courts to rule on her case, is the safest way to protect her movement. On the other hand, if Bardella tries to push Le Pen aside, he risks creating a schism within his party when it has never looked stronger. Regardless, there is little serious talk of the heir-apparent taking over yet. But the thought still lingers. “Bardella’s young, and young politicians are popular,” says Matheiru Gallard, research director of the IPSOS polling firm. As Le Pen awaits any future comment from the court, she continues to paint the verdict as a threat against French democracy, a statement that could reignite political chaos within the country.