French far right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen attends a party meeting in Nanterre, France, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon. File)2025-03-31T19:41:57Z PARIS (AP) For years, Marine Le Pen stood at the gates of power poised, relentless and rising. She stripped the French far right of its old symbols, sanded down its roughest edges and built in its place a sleek, disciplined machine with the single goal of winning the countrys presidency.In 2022, she came closer than anyone thought possible, winning more than 40% of the vote in the runoff against Emmanuel Macron. The lyse Palace seemed within reach. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen poses prior to an interview on the evening news broadcast of French TV channel TF1, after a French court convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris. (Thomas Samson, Pool via AP) Far-right leader Marine Le Pen poses prior to an interview on the evening news broadcast of French TV channel TF1, after a French court convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years, Monday, March 31, 2025, in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris. (Thomas Samson, Pool via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Now her political future may lay in ruins. On Monday, a French court convicted Le Pen of embezzling European Union funds and barred her from holding office for five years. The sentence may have done more than just potentially remove her from the next presidential race. It may have ended the most sustained far-right bid for power in Western Europe since World War II surpassed only, in outcome, by Italys prime minister, Giorgia Meloni.But the political earthquake Le Pen set in motion will rumble for years to come. Honorary President of far-right party National Front Jean-Marie Le Pen, left, and his daughter French far-right leader and National Front Party candidate for the 2012 French presidential elections, Marine Le Pen, react during a campaign meeting, in Marseille, southern France, March 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Claude Paris, File) Honorary President of far-right party National Front Jean-Marie Le Pen, left, and his daughter French far-right leader and National Front Party candidate for the 2012 French presidential elections, Marine Le Pen, react during a campaign meeting, in Marseille, southern France, March 4, 2012. (AP Photo/Claude Paris, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A family inheritance reforgedLe Pen was born in 1968 into a family already on the fringes of French politics. In 1972, her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, founded the National Front party rooted in racism, antisemitism and a yearning for Frances lost empire.She was just 8 years old when a bomb destroyed the familys apartment in Paris in what was widely seen as an assassination attempt on her father. No one was seriously hurt, but the blast marked her for life. She has said it gave her a lasting sense that her family was hated, and that they would never be treated like other people. As a young woman, she studied law, became a defense attorney and learned how to argue her way through hostile rooms. In politics, she didnt wait her turn. In 2011, she wrested control of the party from her father. In 2015, she expelled him after one of his Holocaust-denying tirades.She renamed the party the National Rally. She replaced leather-jacketed radicals with tailored blazers and talking points. She talked less about race, more about the French way of life. She warned of civilizational threats, called for bans on headscarves and promised to put French families first. Her tone changed. Her message didnt.In one of her sharpest political maneuvers, she sought out a group long despised by her father: the LGBTQ community. Le Pen filled her inner circle with openly gay aides, skipped public protests against same-sex marriage and framed herself as a protector of sexual minorities against Islamist danger.Critics called it pinkwashing a cosmetic tolerance masking deeper hostility. But it worked. A surprising number of gay voters, especially younger ones, started backing her. Many saw strength, clarity and the promise of order in a world spinning too fast. Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, July 7, 2024, at the party election night headquarters in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File) Far-right National Rally party leader Marine Le Pen answers reporters after the second round of the legislative election, July 7, 2024, at the party election night headquarters in Paris. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More From the fringe to the front lineShe ran for president three times: 2012, 2017 and 2022. Each time, she climbed higher. In her final campaign, she was confident, calm and media savvy. She leaned into her role as a single mother, posed with her cats and repeated her calls for national priority. She no longer shocked. She convinced.Behind her stood a constellation of far-right leaders cheering her on: Hungarys Viktor Orbn, Italys Matteo Salvini, the Netherlands Geert Wilders. They saw in her not only an ally, but a leader. Her mix of cultural nationalism, social media fluency and calculated restraint became a blueprint.Marine Le Pen posts pictures of her cat, talks about being a mother. But when it comes to policy, theres no softening, said Pierre Lefevre, a Paris-based consultant. It makes extreme positions seem more palatable, even to people who might otherwise be put off.When she lost in 2022, she didnt vanish. She regrouped, stayed present in parliament and prepared for 2027. Polls had her leading. Macron cannot run again.Then came Mondays verdict. French far-right leader Marine Le Pen leaves the National Rally headquarters after a French court convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years, Monday, March 31, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla) French far-right leader Marine Le Pen leaves the National Rally headquarters after a French court convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement and barred her from seeking public office for five years, Monday, March 31, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The fallThe court found that Le Pen had siphoned millions of euros in public funds while serving in the European Parliament, paying party staff with money intended for EU assistants. Prosecutors described it as deliberate and organized. The court agreed.She was sentenced to two years of house arrest, fined 100,000 ($108,200) and banned from holding public office for five years. She said she would appeal. The house arrest sentence will be suspended during the appeal, but the ban on holding office takes effect immediately.Her allies erupted in outrage. Orbn declared, Je suis Marine I am Marine. Salvini called the ruling a declaration of war by Brussels. In Paris, her supporters called it political persecution. Her opponents fist-pumped in the streets. French far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in Nice, southern France, Thursday April 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Claude Paris, File) French far-right leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen addresses supporters during an election campaign rally in Nice, southern France, Thursday April 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Claude Paris, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A changed political landscapeEven in disgrace, Le Pen remains one of the most consequential political figures of her time. She took a name that once evoked hatred and transformed it into a serious vehicle for national leadership. She made the far right electable. She blurred the line between fringe and power.Her party, the National Rally, became the largest last year in Frances lower house of parliament. Her handpicked successor, 29-year-old Jordan Bardella, now leads it. He is polished and popular, but he lacks broad political experience and name recognition.Whether Le Pen returns after her ban, fades into silence or reinvents herself again, her mark is permanent. She forced mainstream rivals to adapt to her language. She turned fear into votes and redefined what was politically possible in a republic once seen as immune to extremism.She never became president, but she changed the race and the rules.