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The ruling by the Paris court of appeal confirmed Le Pen’s guilt in a long-running case involving the employment of fictitious parliamentary assistants between 2004 and 2016, according to an Associated Press report. The lower court had sentenced her in March 2025 to a five-year ban on running for office along with a four-year prison term, two years of which were to be served under house arrest with an electronic tag. The appeals court shortened the ban, giving Le Pen the opportunity to campaign while imposing a one-year electronic monitoring requirement that she has said she will contest through a further appeal to France’s highest court.
Le Pen announced her candidacy on French television shortly after the verdict, stating she would challenge the ruling at the Court of Cassation. “I am here tonight to tell you I am a candidate for the 2027 election,” Le Pen said in comments reported by multiple news outlets including Al Jazeera and Reuters. She added that because the appeal suspends the ruling’s effects, she would campaign without wearing the electronic bracelet, a position she described as consistent with her earlier indications that she would not run while tagged.
Left-wing politician Francois Ruffin described the decision as confirming Le Pen’s status as a criminal who should not be permitted to seek the presidency, according to the BBC. “She has been found guilty twice of embezzling €4.1m (£3.5m) in public funds stolen from French taxpayers. And so, she is a criminal. That is the only conclusion one can draw from this court ruling,” Ruffin stated. “So, logically, she shouldn’t be running in the presidential election.”
The case centered on a system in which funds allocated for European Parliament staff were diverted to pay National Rally employees working on French political matters, a Reuters assessment found. Le Pen was identified by the initial court as being at the heart of the arrangement, which involved more than €4 million, according to figures from the proceedings. The National Rally, formerly known as the National Front, has maintained that the assistants performed legitimate parliamentary work.
Public opinion polls have shown Le Pen’s party leading ahead of the 2027 vote, positioning her as a strong contender despite the legal proceedings, the New York Times reported. Her potential victory would carry major implications for European Union policy and France’s international alliances, given the party’s Eurosceptic platform. Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally, has been positioned as her choice for prime minister should she succeed.
