Paris: A Paris court has imposed a five-year ban on Marine Le Pen, the popular leader of France's far-right National Rally party. This ruling effectively prevents her from contesting the 2027 French presidential election. Le Pen faces allegations of misusing European Union funds, along with other party leaders. The court has not granted her the right to appeal this decision. Before the judge could finish reading the full verdict, Le Pen left the courtroom. She is accused of diverting EU funds to her National Rally party.

Between 2004 and 2016, Le Pen allegedly redirected approximately $3.3 million in EU funds to her party, as established in the court case. Along with her, eight other EU Parliament members are also implicated. Le Pen has previously contested the French presidential elections three times, most recently in 2022, when she lost to Emmanuel Macron.Le Pen is often labeled as an extremist by her critics due to her nationalist policies. She has consistently opposed various EU policies on multiple occasions.