# Marine Le Pen verdict ‘represents an effort to make democracy better’ in France – interview
**Date de l'événement :** 01/04/2025
* Publié le 01/04/2025

### Image
![1.jpg](https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/memory-sp-pr.appspot.com/o/prod%2F1y7CgDOTakHDiB3dgoi0%2FprojectsMedias%2Fg2or9M3XsYFESf4Q5Yd1%2Fthumbs%2F1_1600x900.png?alt=media&token=28672812-b1e7-4ae3-bd4e-9c2a43f925f7) 

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Marine Le Pen, the figurehead of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party and a three-time presidential candidate, has been found guilty of misappropriating public funds and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment and five years of ineligibility for public office, with immediate effect. Despite her decision to appeal, the March 31 ruling in a Paris court will probably eliminate her from the 2027 presidential race. Political scientist Luc Rouban analyses this major political development in an interview with The Conversation France.  
  
**The Conversation:** Marine Le Pen’s sentence of immediate ineligibility came as a surprise and a shock. Some legal experts had imagined that a heavy sentence would fall but doubted that the judge, under pressure, would take the logic of ineligibility to its conclusion – despite the fact that it is enshrined in the law.  
  
**Luc Rouban:** Yes, it’s a surprise and I don’t think the RN was expecting this decision. For the rule of law, it’s a form of revenge on a certain style of political life that, for decades, operated on the basis of arrangements, on the basis of the inner circle. That’s what we were used to during the Jacques Chirac and François Mitterrand periods, when there were dangerous links between politicians and certain members of the business class. It also brings to mind – of course – the more recent Nicolas Sarkozy affair. Today we are witnessing a historic turnaround. Marine Le Pen was no doubt expecting a suspended sentence, a slightly symbolic sentence. But this sentence is not symbolic at all. She is no longer part of the old style of political life.   
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[**→ Cliquez ici pour lire cet article en français.**](https://sources.sciencespo.fr/content/swyFbIGXYnnDaiL59Psv)

**Pour lire l'article complet, cliquez sur le lien ci-dessous :** [https://theconversation.com/marine-le-pen-verdict-represents-an-effort-to-make-democracy-better-in-france-interview-253551](https://theconversation.com/marine-le-pen-verdict-represents-an-effort-to-make-democracy-better-in-france-interview-253551)

## Auteur(s)
Luc Rouban

### Date
01/04/2025

### Type(s) de ressource
`#Texte` 

### Discipline(s)
`#Science politique` 

### Thématique(s)
`#Justice / droit / criminalité` `#Démocratie / institutions` 

### Langue(s)
`#Anglais` 

## Crédits photo
Antonin Albert / Shutterstock

**Licence attribuée à l'article :** `#CC-BY-ND (Attribution, Pas de modification)` 

### Famille(s) de contenu
`#Recherche` 

### Type(s) d'accès
`#Accès libre` 

### Partenaire(s)
**[The Conversation](https://sources.sciencespo.fr/structure/the-conversation_QdYqgYnzKVyePLgMp3g8)** 


### Hébergeur(s)
`#The Conversation` 

## Autres crédits
**Sujet de la photographie** : The sentence for Le Pen (pictured here at a ceremony at the French capital’s Les Invalides in 2024) includes five years of ineligibility for public office.

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