A French appeals court indicated on Tuesday that it would review Marine Le Pen’s case in a timely manner, potentially allowing the far-right leader to run for president in 2027 if her conviction is overturned.
In a court verdict described as a political earthquake by many pundits, Le Pen was sentenced to jail and fined on Monday after being found guilty of a bogus job program in the EU parliament.
The most important aspect of the conviction was a five-year prohibition on running for office, which begins immediately and excludes her from the race.
Le Pen was convicted for a scheme where her National Rally (RN) party was found to have eased the pressure on its own finances by using European Parliament monthly allowances to pay “fictitious” parliamentary assistants, who actually worked for the party.
All 24 convicted individuals were RN party officials or their helpers, including Le Pen.
Le Pen, who believes she will win the 2027 election, which President Emmanuel Macron cannot win again, accused “the system” of delivering “the nuclear bomb” to crush her chances of becoming president in a speech to her parliamentarians on Tuesday.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/world/le-pens-2027-presidential-hopes-hinge-on-fast-tracked-appeal-process-13876466.html.
