A French appeals court on Tuesday upheld the embezzlement conviction of conservative former presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, while reducing a ban on her holding elected office. The ruling clears her path to run in the 2027 presidential election, though a shortened house arrest sentence could present significant challenges to her campaign.
The Paris Criminal Court initially found Le Pen guilty in 2025 of misusing millions of euros in European Union funds to pay domestic political aides, a charge she denies. The original sentence included three years of house arrest and a five-year ban from holding political office, which would have excluded her from the 2027 presidential race.
The appeals court reduced her sentence to three years, with two suspended and one year to be served under house arrest. The ban on holding office was also shortened to 45 months, with 30 months considered suspended. As the suspension is backdated to the initial sentencing in March 2025, Le Pen is now eligible to run for office immediately.
However, Le Pen stated that campaigning freely while under house arrest would be impossible. "If I'm allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn't be possible," she told French media.
Le Pen and 11 associates were convicted of misappropriating public funds. The court found that an organization was established to use European Parliament funds to cover the salaries of parliamentary assistants who were, in reality, working for the National Rally party. The court ordered the defendants to repay €2.8 million in restitution.
Le Pen acknowledged that some staff paid with EU funds performed domestic political work but contended it was an error rather than a deliberate scheme to divert funds. Following the ruling, Le Pen went to the National Rally headquarters to strategize future party plans and is expected to address the decision further.