France: prosecutors seek to ban Marine Le Pen from holding public office

Paris (France), 3 February (LaPresse/AP) – French prosecutors will seek to ban far-right leader Marine Le Pen and officials from her Rassemblement National party from holding public office, putting her candidacy for the 2027 presidential election at risk. One of the prosecutors in her appeal trial for embezzlement of EU funds, Thierry Ramonatxo, said that the alleged embezzlement of public funds represented ‘a very serious breach of integrity’ that gave the party ‘a concrete advantage in the form of substantial savings made at the expense of the European Parliament’. Ramonatxo added that prosecutors will ask a major Paris appeals court to find the party officials guilty and seek a ban on holding elected office. Details of the sentences to be sought are expected later today. Stéphane Madoz-Blanchet, another prosecutor, denounced ‘a system’ put in place by party leaders. ‘The misappropriation of public funds was deliberately and carefully concealed,’ he said.