French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen sentenced to jail: Live Updates

Left-wing party La France Insoumise has rejected the court's verdict to ban Le Pen from running for office.

The party “has never supported using the court to get rid of the National Rally,” a statement published by its national coordinator, Manuel Bompard, said. “We are fighting it at the ballot box and in the streets, through the popular mobilization of the French people, as we did during the 2024 legislative elections.”

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has described the verdict as “a declaration of war by Brussels,” claiming that it is being celebrated by those who “fear the judgment of the voters.”

In a post on X, he compared the outcome of the trial to the recent annulment of the presidential election in Romania, ordered by the Constitutional Court last December over claims of foreign interference. Calin Georgescu, an independent candidate who won the first round, has since been barred from participating in the new election.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a conservative politician whose views on the EU’s policies closely align with those of Le Pen, has expressed support for her on his social media. He posted the phrase “Je suis Marine!” (“I am Marine!” in French) on X and tagged her account.

The expression has become prominent internationally since the January 2015 terrorist attack on the French satirical outlet Charlie Hebdo, when it was widely used to make a stance against jihadism and attempts to silence free speech.

The RN has the largest faction in the National Assembly after the 2024 snap parliamentary election, with 125 of the 577 seats.

The results did not meet the party’s expectations, however, thanks to a last-minute maneuver by centrist forces which resulted in significant gains for the New Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing forces that collectively holds 193 seats.

Meanwhile, Macron leads a minority government formed by a four-way coalition and has struggled with getting his appointments and policies approved.

Le Pen previously described her potential ouster from the upcoming presidential election as “political death.” In 2022, she faced current President Emmanuel Macron in the second round, and lost by less than 10%. Macron will not run in 2027 due to term limits.

The court sentenced Le Pen to four years in jail, two of which she could serve under house arrest, unless the ruling is overturned. She was found guilty alongside eight MEPs, some of whom were ordered to serve time as well.

The party was punished financially, with the court ordering the confiscation of funds and a fine totaling €2 million ($2.2mn).

Le Pen reportedly left the courthouse during the verdict’s reading, after the decision that torpedoed her presidential ambitions was announced. The court granted the prosecutors’ request to enact the prohibition immediately, regardless of any appeals that the 56-year-old politician’s lawyers may seek against the verdict.

The constitutional legality of the punishment was confirmed last Friday in an unrelated case. The Constitutional Council, the nation’s top authority on these matters, confirmed that an immediate prohibition was compatible with basic law.