Marine Le Pen Seeks To Appeal The Ban On Running For The French Presidency

 

Marine Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement. She will not serve any prison time . Two of the custody detainments are suspended, while the other two years will be a status of house arrest. This will require the use of an electronic tag .  Instead Marine Le Pen is prohibited from running in the next French presidential election. The misuse of European Union funds is a serious charge, but the ban on political office is has indications of political partisan motivations. If  Marine Le Pen was such a threat, a harsher prison sentence would have been imposed. The fact that individuals of such a corrupt nature can reach that level demonstrates the weakness of  the European liberal democratic system. This also has another negative consequence. Leaders are going to criminalize their political opponents on both the left and right. As Europe struggles economically, more are going to favor the conservative and far-right political factions. Suppressing political figures or movements is not going to defeat extremist elements within France. Marine Le Pen is seeking an appeal. It is dubious if the ruling can be overturned by 2027. Every attempt Le Pen made to be elected president she failed. The motivation to disqualify her now, might be due to the possibility Le Pen could win. A small number of Le Pen's political competitors also expressed concerns about the ruling. The National Rally Party is going to plot reprisals in reaction to this verdict. The appeals process is going to have legal complexities and opens the debate about the law in relation to political figures. 

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