A court in Paris found Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally faction in the French parliament, guilty of embezzlement of European Parliament funds by hiring fictitious assistants to party members, the judge announced on Monday. The politician was sentenced to four years in custody and immediate disenfranchisement for five years. The term includes two years of probation and two years with an electronic bracelet.
Another eight other party lawmakers were found guilty, while some 12 party members were found guilty of "hiding information."
According to the court, the damage to the European Parliament is estimated at 2.9 million euros ($3.1 million).
Le Pen will not be able to run in the 2027 presidential election, which is seen as a major blow to her political career.
Media reports show she has been leading in the polls, with up to 37% of respondents ready to vote for her in the first round.
Le Pen and 24 of her party members are accused of allegedly laundering the funds of the European Parliament by allegedly fictitiously hiring assistants to lawmakers. The politicians are accused of "misuse of public funds" of the European Union in the period from 2004 to 2016, and Le Pen is accused of creating a "centralized system" of laundering the European Parliament's money.
According to the prosecution, the European Parliament allocated funds to pay for the work of parliamentary assistants to European Parliament lawmakers from Le Pen's party, although in fact the assistants worked only for the National Rally faction.