Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Le Pen Banned from Politics for 5 Years
Marine Le Pen, the fascist leader of the French National Rally [RN], is now a convicted felon. The court ruled that she had embezzled funds from the EU. The judge gave her a four year sentence, two of which are suspended and the other two are likely to be served in home detention. She also has to pay a 100,000 euro fine. In addition, she is banned from holding any public office in France until 2030. This means she will not be eligible to run in the 2027 general election.
Reuters reported.
Le Pen, the RN and two dozen party figures were found guilty of diverting more than 4 million euros ($4.33 million) of European Parliament funds. The party was ordered to pay a 2 million euro fine, with half the amount suspended.
The defendants were not accused of pocketing the money, but of using EU funds to the benefit of their party. They had said the money was used legitimately and that the allegations had defined too narrowly what a parliamentary assistant does . . . .
Le Pen, 56, will appeal, her lawyer said, and neither the prison sentence nor the fine will be applied until her appeals are exhausted. But the five-year ban from running for office starts immediately, via a so-called 'provisional execution' measure requested by prosecutors.
The Guardian explained
The so-called fake jobs system covered parliamentary assistant contracts between 2004 and 2016, and was unprecedented in scale and duration, causing losses of €4.5m to European taxpayer funds. Assistants paid by the European parliament must work directly on Strasbourg parliamentary matters, which the judges found had not been the case.
Naturally, the fascists are whining like stuck pigs, as is their character. The number two person at the RN is Jordan Bardella, who said: "Today it is not only Marine Le Pen who was unjustly convicted: It was French democracy that was killed".
That is in the running for the Frenchman has said since Mr. Moliere penned his farce 'Tartuffe," but Mr. Moliere meant it to be silly.
It is completely appalling that Ms. Le Pen had her hand in the till. It is called embezzlement or misappropriation of funds, but what she did was steal money pure and simple. She is a thief. She is now a felon. Such a status might have meant the end of one's political career, but the US is being mis-led by a man with 34 felony convictions. Apparently, the standards of the twenty-first century are not as rigorous as they were in previous eras. Indeed, there are other world leaders who are standing by her, as disgusting as that is.
"We will not be intimidated, we will not stop: full steam ahead my friend!" Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister and head of the far-right League, told Le Pen in a statement.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said: "Je suis Marine!" One suspects that is merely a statement of solidarity and not the Magyar leader suggesting he is now using the pronouns she/her/hers. But time will tell.
The future of the RN largely hinges on the appeal. If Madame Le Pen can get the ban lifted in time, she has a good chance of becoming the next President of the French Republic. If not, Mr. Bardella will be the likely standard bearer. Her personal popularity far eclipses his, and the real issue is whether people will turn out to vote for the party rather than just the candidate. Put differently, what matters is how transferable her support is.
© Copyright 2025 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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