The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has rejected an appeal by French far-right politician Marine Le Pen to suspend a five-year ban barring her from standing for election, including in France’s 2027 presidential race.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the Strasbourg-based court said it had found no grounds for “an imminent risk of irreparable harm” to any rights protected under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Le Pen, a former leader of France’s biggest opposition party, National Rally (RN), was handed the ban in March this year after a French court found her guilty of misusing public funds.
The ruling related to salaries meant for parliamentary assistants for RN members of the European Parliament, which judges determined were illegally used to pay party staff in France instead.
The veteran politician, who denies wrongdoing, has appealed the domestic court’s verdict, calling it politically motivated.
Le Pen has run for the French presidency twice, in 2017 and 2022, losing both times to President Emmanuel Macron in the second round. Her party remains a significant force in French politics and is currently the third-largest group in the National Assembly.
In a separate development on Wednesday, French police raided National Rally headquarters in Paris as part of an investigation into alleged fraud and campaign finance violations.
RN leader Jordan Bardella condemned the searches, claiming they were aimed at destabilising the party and pushing it towards “financial ruin”.
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