While You Slept: Le Pen Barred from Office, May be Jailed

This politically motivated decision to sideline France's (likely) next president highlights an important question - when can we start throwing the same set of standards at U.S. politicians?

I make no claim of possessing expertise in French politics, but Americans woke to the news of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen having been found guilty of embezzling European Union funds Monday. From Breitbart:

A “political death sentence” has been handed out to three-time presidential candidate and current frontrunner in the race to replace President Emmanuel Macron in 2027, Marine Le Pen.

The Paris court found that Le Pen, along with eight other National Rally Members of the European Parliament, had embezzled 2.9 million euros in funds intended for parliamentary assistants for the party in Strasbourg on political operations in France. The court’s president found Le Pen personally guilty of embezzling 474,000 euros, Le Monde reported.

Le Figaro reports that she was sentenced to four years imprisonment, which will likely be served on probation with an electronic tag rather than in jail, a fine of 100,000 euros, and five years of ineligibility from running for public office.

Convenient. As European turmoil mounts, and a diverse American coalition has only recently set the example for how to turn the page from globalist-aligned regimes, France’s best shot at recreating such a victory just got its wings clipped by activist courts. Like Donald Trump, who led presidential polling from the time he announced his most recent campaign in late 2022, Le Pen is a significant favorite in polling for the 2027 elections. She now has a very narrow window to appeal this decision and still have a shot at running.

Emmanuel Macron, current French President, is thrilled

The embezzlement investigation itself began a decade ago, in 2015, and has come to fruition just in time to save the asses of the hardline French bureaucrats who wish to keep the nation drowning in replacement immigration strategies, crippling debt, and other policies inconsistent with national success or preservation of sovereignty (which has arguably been ceded to the E.U., anyway). In summary, the courts determined that Le Pen and company used E.U. funds on partisan staff expenses rather than authorized expenses.

Here is a Grok summary of key alleged violations:

The Paris court said this was not a personal enrichment scheme, but rather one constructed to fund partisan activities. In this case, the National Rally is considered far-right, but Le Pen’s economic model is arguably left of Emmanuel Macron’s in that she wishes to expand entitlements, lower the retirement age, and boost up government-funded healthcare; however, the catch remains that these perks are for French citizens, not foreigners, so in this sense she can be seen as France-first. This is also why I believe, ostensibly, there could be an America First left-winger, though I would disagree on policy that the proposals benefit the sustainability of American government. Le Pen is a hardliner on immigration and has made most of the right enemies, so she is certainly France’s best shot at short-term survival - at least in remaining any sort of French.

Are Le Pen and company truly guilty of the allegations? I can’t speak for them, and I don’t know. What I will say is that her European allies are screaming bloody murder and this decision is conveniently timed to allow a very small window for appeal and potential overturning for someone who has gradually improved in each of her three presidential runs as the world burns.

The last major world power to see its likely next president hammered with lawfare and threatened with jail time wound up with that man as the next president. This decision is likely to embolden French nationalists and create potentially dangerous civil unrest in France, especially if it becomes apparent the political establishment will win this race against time and cling to power.

In closing, and perhaps with even greater interest, it is a well-known fact of like that the salary for U.S. Senators and Congressmen is $174,000, and those recipients have to live in one of the most expensive markets in the United States will collecting said salary. Elon Musk has indicated DOGE is investigating just how in the hell so many of these current officials have net worths in the tens of millions. If French courts are willing to go so far as to sideline the likely next French president, who would potentially turn the page on French decline, then what would our Congress look like if we purged those who have used insider trading, lobbyist payoffs, and international bribery to build their fortunes?

The empty House!

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Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

John F. Kennedy, Jr.

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Seth Keshel, MBA, is a former Army Captain of Military Intelligence and Afghanistan veteran. His analytical method of election forecasting and analytics is known worldwide, and he has been commended by President Donald J. Trump for his work in the field.