The Paris Court of Appeal has upheld Marine Le Pen’s conviction for the misuse of European Union funds but reduced her sentence, potentially allowing her to run in the French presidential election in April 2027.
A five-year ban on holding public office was shortened and was considered already served, as the court ruled that the non-eligibility period had effectively been completed by March 2025.
However, the leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) party was given a one-year sentence involving electronic monitoring under house arrest, although this would not necessarily prevent her from running for president.
Le Pen has repeatedly stated that she would not run for the presidency if she were required to wear an electronic monitoring device, saying she would not feel “completely free” to campaign.
She is expected to announce whether she will accept the court’s decision during a national television interview at 8:00 p.m. and decide whether to keep her candidacy or hand the RN nomination to her 30-year-old protégé, Jordan Bardella.
Le Pen currently leads opinion polls with less than 10 months remaining before the election campaign concludes. She has already run for president three times and lost twice consecutively to Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally barred from seeking another term. Macron has declined to comment on the ruling.
In her latest television interview a week ago, Le Pen outlined her conditions for running for president, both before judges and the public.
She told news channel LCI that she would not campaign for the presidency while wearing an electronic tag because “when you are a presidential candidate, you need complete freedom of movement… I cannot depend on a judge to allow me to hold a campaign rally or visit a market.”
The court’s decision, delivered months after her appeal hearings in January and February, made clear that judges were not attempting to prevent her from running.
The judges explained that they had weighed the restrictions on holding public office against the principles of “freedom of candidacy” and “the free choice of voters.”
They stated that the court had the responsibility to determine whether the sentence was proportionate, while recognizing that candidacy and the right to vote are fundamental parts of the democratic process.
Nevertheless, the court found Le Pen guilty of misappropriating funds intended for members of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2016, using the money to pay party staff.
Although the alleged fake employment scheme was initially established under the leadership of her father, former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, the court ruled that Marine Le Pen continued the practice with the assistance of party colleagues, including members of the European Parliament.
Le Pen now faces a three-year sentence consisting of two years suspended imprisonment and one year under electronic monitoring. Her original sentence included two years of imprisonment under electronic surveillance.
Political opponents immediately criticized the ruling’s implications. Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure argued that Le Pen should not run because a candidate for France’s highest office should set an example.
Green Party leader Marine Tondelier said that, contrary to repeated claims by the National Rally, there had been “no judicial conspiracy against Le Pen,” adding that she had actually benefited from significant leniency.
In theory, Le Pen could request that the one-year electronic monitoring period be reduced for good behavior. If approved, she could not only run for president but could also avoid entering the Élysée Palace wearing an electronic tag if she wins the two-round election scheduled for April 18 and May 2, 2027.
Although the ruling included a ban on holding public office, it does not currently affect her eligibility. Most of the 45-month period is suspended, and she has already served the 15 months that were not suspended since the original ruling on March 31, 2025.
Dozens of journalists and members of the public gathered outside the Paris Court of Appeal from early Tuesday morning to hear the long-awaited decision.
Attention has now turned to Le Pen’s upcoming live television interview on TF1’s main evening news program.
After the verdict was announced, Le Pen traveled to the National Rally headquarters in Paris, where party president Jordan Bardella was waiting for her.
Bardella was not present at the court and did not make a statement following the ruling.
The two were expected to hold discussions with the rest of the party leadership before Le Pen’s television appearance.
If she decides not to run, Bardella, 30, is expected to become the RN’s presidential candidate.
All but one of the 11 defendants attended Tuesday’s hearing. Former Le Pen ally Bruno Gollnisch was the only person absent.
All defendants were found guilty of diverting European Parliament funds, which Judge Michèle Agi said must be considered public funds.
Gollnisch told the BBC that the ruling was a farce and a political maneuver, saying he would respect Le Pen’s decision but describing the outcome as hypocritical: “You say she cannot be a candidate, but she can be a candidate with an electronic tag on her ankle and must return home every night under police supervision. It is absurd.”
