Far-right leader found guilty of embezzlement of European funds and immediately barred from running for office

• Europe live – latest updates

The French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been barred from running for president in 2027 after a court found her guilty of a vast system of embezzlement of European parliament funds and banned her from running for public office with immediate effect.

The decision was a political earthquake for Le Pen, the leader of the far-right anti-immigration National Rally party, who had hoped to mount a fourth campaign to become president.