Le Pen’s path to 2027 election uncertain after court ruling
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen will be able to run in France’s presidential election next year, though her involvement remained in doubt Tuesday after a Paris appeals court upheld her conviction for misusing European Union funds, reports BritPanorama.
The court shortened her ban on running for elected office, potentially reopening the path for her to campaign. However, the ruling mandates that she must wear an electronic ankle tag for a year, complicating both the logistics and politics of any potential campaign.
Le Pen indicated that she would likely forgo a run if required to wear the tag, stating, “If I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible,” during a recent interview.
The 57-year-old politician, who has previously run for president three times, was banned from public office for five years in March 2025 after being found guilty of embezzling 1.4 million euros ($1.6 million) in European Parliament funds to hire two senior members of her party, then known as the National Front, as parliamentary assistants.
EU lawmakers are provided funds to cover expenses and salaries for parliamentary assistants, but these cannot be allocated for party activities. Investigators discovered that the hires made between 2004 and 2016 were part of a broader scheme involving “fake jobs.”
Le Pen, who placed second to President Emmanuel Macron in both the 2017 and 2022 elections, received a four-year prison sentence, two of which were suspended, along with a fine of 100,000 euros ($114,355). She was allowed to serve the remaining two years under home detention with the electronic tag.
Her party was also fined 200,000 euros ($2.29 million), half of which was suspended. Following the ruling, Le Pen accused the judicial system of conducting a “witch hunt” against her and described the outcome as a “democratic scandal.”
Previously positioned as a frontrunner for the 2027 election, Le Pen’s party changed its name to National Rally in 2018 and was leading in polls until last year’s ruling disrupted her campaign ambitions.
There have been reports of death threats directed towards Judge Benedicte de Perthuis from some of Le Pen’s supporters, according to Agence France-Presse.
Initially arguing that the funds were used legitimately, Le Pen, during her appeal, insisted the party had “absolutely no sense of doing anything wrong whatsoever.”
Having resigned as National Rally president in 2021 to focus on her presidential aspirations, she handed the position to Jordan Bardella, the current party leader and a former protégé.
In a recent post on X, Bardella expressed his unwavering support for Le Pen, stating, “Nothing can justify Marine Le Pen being excluded from the choice of the French people and prevented from presenting herself before them.”
Le Pen conveyed confidence in the days leading up to the court’s decision, stating, “If I can run, I will — as long as I can campaign.” She is scheduled to provide a prime-time interview on TF1 at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET), where she may disclose her political future.
While she retains the option to appeal to the Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, it remains uncertain whether the judges would suspend the sentence while waiting for a final ruling. The Court of Cassation has indicated that it would aim to issue a ruling prior to the 2027 presidential election.
