Marine Le Pen’s conviction bars her from standing for election. Republicans thought that was one of the job qualifications.
Marine Le Pen, along with nine other former National Rally MEPs, was convicted of embezzlement in Paris today. The charges relate to misuse of EU funding. Between 2004 and 2016 the National Rally MEPs had operated a massive scheme to embezzle European parliament funds. This scheme used €4.5m of EU funds earmarked for European parliament assistants to instead pay party workers back in France. The embezzlement operation also included 12 assistants who were also found guilty.
“It was established that all these people were actually working for the party, that their (EU) lawmaker had not given them any tasks,” – Judge Benedicte de Perthuis
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cwyewv8xdp7t
The conviction means that Le Pen can not stand for public office for five years. While she can remain in her current parliament seat, she can not stand for re-election and she can not take part in the presidential election in 2027. Others were also similarly barred from elections to public offices for various periods.
Republicans have been very confused as they had assumed that having a conviction was a prerequisite for becoming President. They thought that the moment she was convicted she would be sworn in as President. Agent Orange (34 convictions) had a present ready to send her. A gift box of Sharpie pens sprayed with gold and with his signature on and a good luck message.
Elon Musk (illegaly worked in the USA on a student visa) whined in an Xcretion, “When the radical left can’t win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents,”. Totally missing the point that had she not embezzled EU funds then the case would not have been brought.
Other outraged far-right politicians included Eric Zimmour (convicted for hate speech) the President of the French far-right Reconquest Party, Matteo Salvini (tried for blocking humanitarian rescue ships but aquited) Italy’s hard-right deputy prime minister and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.