In France, punishments are usually temporarily lifted if the defendant appeals, but the judges in Le Pen’s case took the unusual but not unprecedented decision to immediately enact her sentence regardless of an appeal due to what they considered to be the gravity of the case and the risk of recidivism.
In her statement, Le Pen argued she’s been left without proper legal recourse to challenge her election ban given that French President Emmanuel Macron once again has the ability to dissolve parliament. Were he to do so, Le Pen would be unable to run for reelection.
Le Pen also maintained that her ban violates several principles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including presumption of innocence, the right to have a sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal and the right of voters to freely choose their representatives.
Le Pen had announced her plans to bring the case before the ECHR shortly after being sentenced.
