Marine Le Pen under house arrest, with her presidential candidacy in doubt
The appeals court barred the three-time presidential candidate from holding public office for 45 months, 30 of which were suspended.
Marine Le Pen
On Tuesday, an appeals court sentenced Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s far right, to one year of house arrest for a scheme involving fake jobs at the European Parliament. The ruling raises doubts about whether she will run in the presidential election next April.
The appeals court imposed a 45-month ban on the three-time presidential candidate from holding public office, 30 months of which were suspended.
The remaining 15 months were expected to be counted retroactively from the initial verdict by a lower court in March of last year and, therefore, would have already expired, meaning that, in theory, she could run for office.
But the court also sentenced her to three years in prison, two of which were suspended, meaning that she will have to serve one year under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor.
What does Le Pen say?
"When you're a presidential candidate, you need to be completely free to move around," she said last week in a televised interview.
"I can't depend on a judge to allow me to go to a rally."
She is scheduled to appear on Tuesday’s evening news.
LATEST
