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Adam Allington
France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been sentenced to prison, pending appeal, and is banned from office for five years after she was found guilty of embezzling $3 million.
Mabel Berezin
Professor of Sociology at Cornell University
Mabel Berezin, professor of sociology at Cornell University and an expert on international populism, says Le Pen’s conviction is going to push French politics into even more tumult.
Berezin says:
“After three previous tries, Marine Le Pen was one track to be competitive, if not successful, in the 2027 Presidential election. This conviction will now appear as a political ploy to eliminate her from the competition.
“Since her first run for president in 2012, Le Pen has built up a serious center-right political following. Her elimination from the next race will backfire and not have the effects that what is left of the political establishment are hoping for. I think it will challenge, rather than help, French democracy.”
