Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday decried a court ruling that disqualified French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen from running to be president in 2027.
“I don’t know the merit of the objections made to Marine Le Pen, nor the reasons for such a strong decision, but I think that no one who cares about democracy can rejoice in a sentence that affects the leader of a large party and takes away representation from millions of citizens,” Meloni, who is Europe’s most powerful right-wing leader, told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
On Monday, a Paris court found Le Pen guilty of embezzling EU funds and imposed an immediate five-year ban on running for office. Unless her conviction is overturned before the 2027 presidential election, she will be ineligible to run.
Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison, with two years suspended. The remaining two years can be served under house arrest with an electronic bracelet instead of incarceration. Additionally, she was fined €100,000.
Following her conviction, Le Pen’s allies across Europe, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk, denounced the court’s decision. Trump himself called the ruling “a very big deal.”
Speaking on French television Monday evening, Le Pen said there was “no way” she was leaving politics and that she planned to fight for her right to run for president. “I’m combative, I won’t let myself be eliminated,” she said.
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