French court finds far-right leader Le Pen guilty of embezzlement

A French court has found far-right leader Marine Le Pen guilty of embezzling European Union funds.

The Paris court ruled that Le Pen used more than 3 million euros ($3.3m) of European Parliament funds to pay members of her National Rally party. The ruling threatens to push the nationalist out of the 2027 presidential race, in which she is currently the frontrunner, according to opinion polls.

The sentencing, set to be announced immediately, could see Le Pen declared ineligible to run for office. She has accused prosecutors of seeking her “political death”. A jail sentence and heavy financial penalty are also possible.

“If Marine Le Pen can’t run that would change the landscape of the French far-right and its prospects,” said Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler reporting from the Paris courtroom. “Most likely it would be Jordan Bardello to take her place, the current president of RN.”

“But he is much younger and not the same kind of dominant force as Marine Le Pen,” she added. “He’s not the figure that so many in France know, and so some say he would likely find it tougher in the 2027 race.

“Others say a fresh face may be what’s needed.”

This is a developing story, more to follow …