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A French court convicted Marine Le Pen, leader of the populist National Rally (RN) party, on March 31, 2025, of “embezzling” European Parliament funds—but make no mistake, the move was nothing short of politically orchestrated lawfare.
Prosecutors alleged that from 2004 to 2017, during her time as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Le Pen and 24 co-defendants funneled over €3 million (~$3.2 million) earmarked for assistants to support their Brussels-based parliamentary work into party operations in France. For this, she received a four-year prison term—two years suspended, two under house arrest—a $108,000 fine, and a five-year ban from public office, slamming the door on a projected 2027 presidential election…
