The Paris Court found Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) party in the French parliament, guilty of embezzling public funds by paying ghost European parliamentary assistants.
The ruling bans her from running for the French presidency for five years.
Alongside Le Pen, eight other RN members of the European Parliament (EP) were also convicted of embezzlement. The 12 parliamentary assistants they had hired were found guilty of possessing stolen goods.
According to the Court, Le Pen and her colleagues arranged for the EP to pay salaries to individuals who were working, partially or entirely, for the French far-right party rather than for the European Parliament.
The total amount embezzled reached approximately 2.9 million euros (3.1 million U.S. dollars), with Le Pen alone responsible for around 474,000 euros, the Court stated.
Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison, two of which are to be served under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. She was also fined 100,000 euros.
Speaking Monday evening on French public broadcaster TF1, Le Pen said she would "appeal as quickly as possible."
Le Pen also affirmed that she would not retire from political life, even if barred from running for the presidency.
The verdict effectively eliminates the possibility of Le Pen participating in the country's presidential election in 2027, according to Stephane Zumsteeg, Director of the Opinion and Social Research Department at Ipsos.
"This is truly a political earthquake never experienced in France before. A figure of the magnitude of Marine Le Pen, who is still the leader of France's leading party, and who is approaching the next presidential election with a certain comfort and a certain advantage in opinion polls, is condemned to ineligibility. This is not the first time that a political figure has been condemned, but it is the first time that a figure of her magnitude has been prevented from running in the elections for five years. This simply means that Marine Le Pen will be deprived of the next presidential election -- that is the main influence of this court decision," he said.
Le Pen was President Emmanuel Macron's main political rival in the past two elections. In 2022, Macron defeated her with 58.5 percent of the vote. In 2017, he won against her in a runoff with 66.10 percent. Le Pen had declared that the 2027 presidential race would be her fourth and final attempt at the French presidency.
French far-right leader Le Pen found guilty in embezzlement trial
French far-right leader Le Pen found guilty in embezzlement trial
French far-right leader Le Pen found guilty in embezzlement trial
