A Paris appeals court on Tuesday ruled that French far-right leader Marine Le Pen can potentially contest the 2027 presidential election after reducing the ban that previously barred her from holding elected office. However, according to FRANCE 24, the court upheld a requirement that she serve part of her sentence……
A Paris appeals court on Tuesday ruled that French far-right leader Marine Le Pen can potentially contest the 2027 presidential election after reducing the ban that previously barred her from holding elected office.
However, according to FRANCE 24, the court upheld a requirement that she serve part of her sentence under electronic monitoring, leaving uncertainty over whether she will proceed with her campaign.
The appellate court upheld Le Pen’s conviction for embezzlement but eased key elements of the sentence imposed in 2025. Her ban from seeking or holding elected office was reduced from five years to 45 months, with two-thirds of that period suspended.
The court also shortened her prison sentence from four years to three years. Of the revised sentence, two years were suspended, while the remaining year is to be served under house arrest with an electronic bracelet.
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The ruling has been viewed as a mixed outcome for the 57-year-old politician, who now faces the decision of whether to pursue another presidential bid while complying with the electronic monitoring requirement.
Le Pen is expected to address the judgment later on Tuesday during a scheduled television interview.
The appeal stemmed from her March 2025 conviction, which found her and several members of the National Rally party guilty of misappropriating European Parliament funds.
The case centred on allegations that party employees were paid with money allocated for parliamentary assistants serving Members of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2016.
Although Le Pen has consistently denied any wrongdoing, she has maintained her ambition to seek the French presidency for a fourth time.
Before Tuesday’s decision, she had warned that any restrictions limiting her ability to campaign could force her to abandon those plans.
“If I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible,” Le Pen said in an interview last week.
If she ultimately opts against running, National Rally president Jordan Bardella, 30, is widely expected to become the party’s presidential candidate.
During the appeal proceedings, prosecutors had urged the court to impose a four-year prison sentence, with three years suspended, alongside a five-year ban from holding elected office. The appeals court ultimately imposed a lighter sentence while maintaining Le Pen’s conviction.
