The controversial move to ban National Rally leader Marine Le Pen from standing in the French presidential election has been accused of demonstrating double standards, with reports claiming that over a hundred other European politicians violated the same rules without facing prosecution.
A Paris court enacted a five-year ban from running in any election against populist firebrand Marine Le Pen after finding her, and other members of her National Rally party, guilty of “embezzling” European Union funds for political activities in France.
Under EU rules, all Members of the European Parliament are afforded hundreds of thousands to pay for staff and their operations in Strasbourg and Brussels. Le Pen, like many other MEPs before her, was accused of using such funds to pay for other party expenses outside of the transnational parliament.
While the EU has never released a full…
