Tuesday, April 1

French right-wing political leader Marine Le Pen has been found guilty of embezzlement by an official court, preventing her from looking to take office for the next five years.

Marine Le Pen is the leader of the far-right National Rally party, making her a prominent politician with a strong backing. In 2017 and 2022, Le Pen came second to incumbent President Emmanuel Macron, and her support has continued to grow since then.

Because of this, the verdict after her trial in a French court was shocking-- the move is a massive game-changer for French politics. The courts ruled that she was guilty of embezzlement, and she will receive two years of house along with two years of suspension as punishment, in addition to the five-year ban from running for office.

The chief judge of the court confirmed that in their findings, Le Pen and several other members of her party had been using European Union parliamentary funds to pay other staff, which is prohibited by EU law.

This five-year ban most likely means that Le Pen will not be able to run in the 2027 French election, which flips French politics upside-down. Now that Macron is serving his second term, France needs a prominent leader to follow him, and Le Pen was thought to be that person.

Le Pen is now appealing the decision, but it is unknown whether she will be able to fix her situation. Appeals in France can take years to get to court, meaning that she could still miss the 2027 election anyway. Additionally, the appeals court could choose to uphold the previous decision, making the effort a waste. Now, the effects of this decision will begin rippling across French politics, but exactly what those effects will be remains to be seen.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): There are now only two countries in the world where you cannot find Coca-Cola -- North Korea and Cuba -- and it is due to US trade embargoes on both countries.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Life is too short to waste time on things that don’t matter. (Unknown)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Penchant (adj, PEN-chunt) - Penchant refers to a strong liking for something, or a strong tendency to behave in a certain way. It is usually used with for.

In a Sentence: My penchant for mathematics helped me become an engineer.