Far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for political office for five years after being found guilty of embezzling European Union funds, in a politically explosive ruling that has shattered her hopes of winning France’s 2027 presidential election.

It’s my political death they want,” far-right leader Marine Le Pen claimed in November – a prediction that proved prescient, though few took it seriously at the time.

France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement and barred from running in elections for five years.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to a five-year ban on running for public office for embezzling EU funds in a major political earthquake.

The sentence made the far-right leader ineligible for five years, excluding her from the 2027 election unless she can secure a more favorable outcome on appeal.

The home address of Benedicte de Perthuis - the head of a three-judge panel that found Le Pen guilty of embezzling EU funds and handed her a five-year ban on seeking public office - was shared online after she delivered her ruling on Monday, the source said. She is now receiving police protection at work and at home.

It was a good day for French democracy but the far-right may still win the 2027 presidential election, writes Cole Stangler.

A judge is delivering a verdict on Monday regarding the the right-wing French leader's embezzlement allegations.