Marine Le Pen, a prominent figure in French politics and leader of the hard-right National Rally (RN), has been found guilty of misusing European Union funds, according to a Paris appeal court ruling. While the conviction stands, the court has reduced her sentence and backdated a ban on holding public office, which now considers the penalty served as of March 2025. This decision clears a significant hurdle for her potential candidacy in the April 2027 French presidential election.
However, the ruling includes a one-year term of house arrest with an electronic ankle tag. Le Pen has previously stated that she would not seek the presidency if required to wear such a tag, citing a need for "total freedom of movement" to campaign effectively. She is expected to address her decision on whether to run, or to cede her candidacy to RN president Jordan Bardella, in a national television appearance.
Le Pen currently leads opinion polls for the upcoming election, with less than 10 months remaining. This would be her fourth presidential bid, having been defeated in the final round twice by incumbent Emmanuel Macron, who is ineligible to run for a third consecutive term. The court's judgment, delivered months after the appeal hearing, stated that the judges considered the "freedom of candidacy" and the "free choice of electors" when weighing the ineligibility penalties against the duration of house arrest. The court also noted its role in assessing the proportionality of punishments within the democratic process.
The conviction stems from the embezzlement of funds intended for Members of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2016, which were allegedly used to pay party staff. The court found Le Pen guilty of these charges.