Marine Le Pen, France’s far-right leader, condemned a “political decision” on Monday and claimed she had not given up hope of running for president in 2027 after a court imposed a five-year ban.
The sentence, part of a conviction for establishing false jobs in the EU parliament on behalf of her National Rally (RN) party, which she adamantly contested, surprised Le Pen, and the court ordered the ban to take effect immediately.
If it remains, she will be unable to begin a fourth campaign for the Elysee, where pundits feel she has the best chance of becoming president.
In a febrile international climate, the verdict was condemned by the Kremlin, billionaire tycoon Elon Musk and hard-right European politicians ranging from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to Geert Wilders of the Netherlands.
Le Pen was also given a four-year prison term by the Paris court but will not go to jail, with two years of the term suspended and the other two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/a-denial-of-democracy-marine-le-pen-calls-french-court-ban-on-her-presidency-run-a-political-decision-13876143.html.
