The reactions have been linked since the announcement of the requisitions against Marine Le Pen in the trial of the parliamentary assistants of the National Front. The prosecution requested, Wednesday November 13, five years in prison, of which two years are subject to change, and a five-year ineligibility sentence for the leader of the National Rally. JJudged before the Paris court alongside 24 other defendants, Marine Le Pen expressed indignation to the press against “violence” of the accusation. The MP and president of the RN group in the Assembly is not yet condemned, but its supporters are already denouncing a political decision. The defense is due to plead starting Monday and the trial is scheduled to end on November 27. The court will not render its decision before early 2025. Here are the questions that arise about the possible ineligibility of the former presidential candidate.
1 What is the sentence requested against Marine Le Pen?
The prosecution requested five years in prison – including two years in prison – and five years of ineligibility against Marine Le Pen. The requested prison sentence is flexible, which means that the former president of the National Front would not go to prison. The Paris prosecutor's office also demanded a fine of 300,000 euros against the Pas-de-Calais MP, as well as a fine of 4.3 million euros, including 2 million euros for the National Rally. Among the other defendants,Other political figures are targeted by heavy requisitions, such as MEP Louis Alliot and MP Julien Odoul.
2 Could she be prevented from running for president?
The leader of the National Rally is affected by the so-called “Sapin 2” law, which came into force on December 11, 2016. The text makes the application of the penalty of ineligibility mandatory and automatic in the event of misappropriation of public funds. If the court found Marine Le Pen guilty, it could however “by a specially motivated decision” decide not to apply this penalty. An option rejected by the prosecution which also demands that the penalty of ineligibility be accompanied by a provisional execution, that is to say that it applies immediately. Which could prevent him from running in the 2027 presidential election.
Normally, the sentences handed down, unless the court decides otherwise, are suspended while the defendant appeals. This is for example the case in the trial of the Bygmalion affair. Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced on appeal to six months in prison last February, but the application of the sentence is suspended, because the former president appealed to the Court of Cassation. In the case of Marine Le Pen, the prosecution justifies its requisitions in the name of “prevention of recidivism” and of “protection of public order”. During the hearing, prosecutor Nicolas Barret explained that “the law applies to everyone” and that justice cannot be accountable for “ambitions” policies of each. “PTo be effective and meaningful, a sentence must occur within a reasonable period of time.”he added.
3 How did Marine Le Pen react?
Unsurprisingly, the far-right MP was outraged by the requisitions. “The only thing that interested the prosecution was Marine Le Pen, to be able to ask for her exclusion from political life (…) and then the National Rally, to be able to ruin the party”affirmed the president of the RN group in the Assembly after leaving the court. In the event of a judgment against her, the far-right elected official has already warned that she will appeal.
The rest of the RN elected officials followed in the footsteps of the former presidential candidate. Sébastien Chenu, the vice-president of the party, denounced “a public prosecutor’s office serving a political mission” on BFMTV. “The prosecution is not in justice: it is in relentlessness and revenge against Marine Le Pen”added the president of the party, Jordan Bardella, on the social networks “scandalous requisitions aimed at depriving millions of French people of their vote in 2027”. And the elected official believes that they represent “an attack on democracy”. Many RN elected officials have published photos of themselves on social networks with Marine Le Pen under the hashtag #JeSoutiensMarine. The far-right party even launched a petition in support of its figurehead.
4 What does the rest of the political class say?
Most leaders from the right and center remained discreet in their reactions. With one notable exception. “Fighting Madame Le Pen is done at the ballot box, not elsewhere”wrote Gérald Darmanin on. “If the court judges that she must be condemned, she cannot be condemned electorally, without the expression of the people”estimated the former Minister of the Interior, calling not to “dig” any further “the difference between the 'elites' and the vast majority of our fellow citizens”.
But this position goes down badly in the government camp. The Minister of Justice, Didier Migaud, while refusing to comment on an individual case, recalled on CNews that “the magistrates are independent” et “judge based on the law passed by the legislator”. Gerald Darmanin “shouldn't have said that”estimated more directly Xavier Bertrand, the president of the Hauts-de-France region, on RTL. Same argument from Macronist MEP Pascal Canfin who judges on “inadmissible and contrary to the basic rules of our rule of law” the words of the ex-minister.
On the left, this “violation of the principle of separation of powers” was also criticized by the head of the Socialist Party. Olivier Faure sees it as a “big embarrassing wink from someone who pretends to pity the woman whose electorate he dreams of winning back”. CSome elected officials were also indignant at the defense of Marine Le Pen, who “spends her time crying about judicial laxity. But while she is the subject of a logical indictment for alleged facts which are so serious, she rolls on the ground and denounces an abuse”noted environmentalist deputy Benjamin Lucas on X.
5 Is French law unique in Europe?
Many of our European neighbors have rules providing for ineligibility in the event of conviction by the courts. In Germany, as explained in a report by the NGO Transparency International, a person “sentenced to at least one year of imprisonment automatically loses her right to be elected and to compete in elections” for a period of five years, starting once the sentence has been served. In Ireland, anyone serving “a prison sentence of more than six months” is ineligible for the duration of his sentence, reports the European Parliament website.
In the United Kingdom, according to a law dating from 1981, people serving a prison sentence of more than one year are in fact ineligible during their imprisonment, just like those who were sentenced for illegal electoral practices or violations relating to political donations. Conversely, certain countries, such as Sweden or Finland, do not provide for automatic ineligibility in the event of conviction by the courts.
