Far-right leader Marine Le Pen will run for the French presidency for a fourth time, following a Paris appeals court ruling that reduced a ban on seeking public office. The decision comes less than 10 months before the election and allows Le Pen, who has been convicted twice of embezzling public funds, to campaign for the leadership of the European Union's largest nation.
The Paris appeals court on Tuesday shortened a ban on holding public office that had previously threatened her presidential ambitions. However, the court still ordered Le Pen to serve one year of home detention, monitored electronically. This ruling has raised the prospect of a presidential candidate campaigning with an electronic tag.
Le Pen announced Tuesday that she intends to challenge the home detention ruling to France's highest court, the Court of Cassation. This legal maneuver, according to the court, will suspend the home detention sentence, at least until it makes its own ruling. The court stated that the process is expected to conclude before the election's first round in April.
"I will therefore campaign without an electronic bracelet," Le Pen declared.
Should Le Pen win the election, a prospect considered far from certain despite her popularity, she would benefit from presidential immunity, which would prevent the electronic monitoring while in office. However, the electronic monitoring could be reimposed after her presidency, according to Julien Jeanneney, a professor of public law at the University of Strasbourg. He noted that a judge might decide against requiring a former president to resume wearing a monitoring bracelet, especially if a significant portion of the sentence had already been served.
Critics and potential rivals argue that Le Pen's embezzlement conviction makes her ethically unfit for the presidency. "It's not normal," said Bernadette Flament, a resident near a campaign stop. "A president who governs, who will govern France, who has been convicted, is unacceptable."
Recent polls indicate that French voters desire higher ethical standards in public life and are critical of perceived dishonesty among politicians, particularly after multiple scandals involving lawmakers and ministers. In 2023, Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former French president in modern history to be imprisoned, serving three months with an electronic monitor after a criminal conspiracy conviction.
Le Pen plans to campaign as a "duo" with Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old president of their National Rally party. Bardella, popular with younger voters and active on social media, is slated to be Le Pen's prime minister if she wins. This pairing marks a departure from tradition in French presidential elections, where voters select a single leader. The choice of prime minister is ultimately the president's prerogative.
Célia Belin, a specialist in French politics at the European Council on Foreign Relations, suggests the "ticket" approach could appeal to existing National Rally supporters and attract new voters drawn to Bardella's youth and communication style, potentially broadening their electoral base.