Le Pen banned for pledge card equivalent

Politico reported:

Marine Le Pen’s plans to run for the French presidency in 2027 were dealt a likely fatal blow Monday after she was found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds and deemed ineligible to stand in elections for the next five years. 

Le Pen and 24 other codefendants were accused of illicitly siphoning European Parliament funds to pay for party employees who seldom or never dealt with affairs in Brussels or Strasbourg. The court estimated that the accused had over 12 years embezzled more than €4 million, €474,000 of which Le Pen was held personally responsible for as an MEP. 

I am no fan of Le Pen, but this is not good. What Le Pen was found guilty of is that basically parliamentary funds were used for purposes that were more about helping her party, than parliamentary duties.

Anyone remember Helen Clark’s pledge card that the Auditor-General ruled was illegally funded by the taxpayer. This is basically what Le Pen did. Helen didn’t go to jail, get fined or ruled ineligible to stand.

All around the world, politicians use parliamentary funding to try and help their political parties. Now you should certainly do so within the rules, and there should be consequences for breaking the rules. But being ruled ineligible to stand for office (especially when you are the leading contender for President) is un-democratic.