Marine Le Pen found guilty in EU funding embezzlement case

France’s Marine Le Pen has been found guilty of misappropriating European funds to finance her far-right National Rally (RN) party.

The judge has not yet said what the sentence will be.

Prosecutors last year said Le Pen’s punishment should be not just a €300,000 (£250,000) fine and prison term, but also ineligibility from running for public office for five years.

Crucially, he said the ineligibility should kick in straightaway – and not be suspended pending the appeal that Marine Le Pen is expected to file if convicted.

This would scupper her hopes of running for president in 2027.

Judges could also decide not to impose automatic ineligibility with her conviction, which would leave her free to stand in 2027 during an appeals process.

The court could also give her a shorter term of automatic ineligibility – say one year – making it possible for her to run.

Le Pen was accused, along with more than 20 other senior party figures, of hiring assistants who worked on her RN party affairs rather than for the European Parliament which paid them.

During the trial last year, Le Pen denied she had committed “the slightest irregularity”.

The reading of the verdict, which started shortly after 10:00 (09:00 BST), is expected to take up to two hours.