Dem
47
GOP
53
As it turns out, far-right French politician Marine Le Pen is not just a paranoid xenophobe, she's also a crook. She and her party, National Rally (RN), looted the European Parliament to the tune of €4.1 million (about $4.4 million). This was accomplished by using money meant to pay E.U. staffers to instead pay RN staffers. This is not kosher, and the amounts involved turned it into a serious criminal matter.
Yesterday, Le Pen was convicted and sentenced for her role in the scheme. She has to pay €100,000 (about $108,000) in fines, and she's also sentenced to 4 years in prison—2 years of house arrest, 2 years suspended as long as she does not commit any more crimes. She is also banned from running in the 2027 French presidential election. Le Pen claims she is an innocent victim, and that she is being persecuted by her enemies, and yada, yada, yada. She will appeal, of course, though people who know far more about French law than we do say she's got little chance of prevailing.
So, what impact will this have on the French elections? That, of course, is hard to say, given how many lifetimes there are between now and when French voters head to the polls. There could be a rally 'round the flag effect, not unlike what happened with Donald Trump, wherein Le Pen's base is angered and makes sure to turn out, whether she's on the ballot or not. On the other hand, the opposition might be able to paint Le Pen/RN as hopelessly corrupt, and just as willing to steal the money of La Belle France as they are the money of the E.U.
This question is not merely academic, because the current administration is not terribly popular, the continent and the world are currently in a "throw the bums out" frame of mind, and Le Pen/RN were considered the frontrunners to claim victory in 2 years. For what it its worth, the last three polls to ask respondents about Le Pen gave her 35%, 35% and 36% support, which was enough to lead all other contenders by 10+ points. In the only poll taken since Le Pen's downfall, her successor, Jordan Bardella, polled at... 36%. So, maybe it's the party and not the candidate. That said, there's plenty of time for things to change.
Meanwhile, it is interesting to learn that there are countries out there that hold crooked politicians responsible for their misdeeds, seeing to it that they are subject to scrutiny by a court, and imposing penalties, up to and including disqualification from office, when appropriate. Undoubtedly, our readers in the United States and Israel did not know that was possible. (Z)
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