French prosecutors have asked for prison time and a five-year ban from politics for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, potentially derailing her bid to become president in 2027.

Le Pen, her National Rally (RN) party and more than 20 of its members are accused of using European Parliament money to pay staff who were in fact working for RN in France, allegations they deny.

After almost six weeks of hearings at the Paris criminal court, French prosecutors announced on Wednesday that they were requesting a sentence for Le Pen of five years of imprisonment (with three years suspended) and the imposition of five years of ineligibility from politics.
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The prosecutors also asked that the ineligibility sentence was given “with provisional execution,” meaning it would take place immediately and Le Pen could not stand for new elections during this period, even if appeals were filed against the court’s decision.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/14/europe/marine-le-pen-presidential-bid-threat-political-ban-france-intl/index.html