Marine Le Pen Can Contest 2027 Election as French Court Shortens Her Public Office Ban

A Paris appeals court has upheld Marine Le Pen's conviction for misusing European Union funds, but shortened her ban on holding public office in a ruling that could allow the far-right leader to contest France's 2027 presidential election, though significant uncertainty remains over whether she will actually run, NBC News reported.

The court ruled that Le Pen must wear an electronic ankle tag for a year, a condition she has suggested would effectively rule out a campaign. "If I'm allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn't be possible," she said in an interview ahead of the verdict.

Le Pen, 57, was originally convicted in March last year of embezzling 1.4 million euros in European Parliament funds to employ two senior figures from her party, then called the National Front, as parliamentary assistants between 2004 and 2016. Investigators concluded the hires were not isolated cases but part of a broader system of fictitious employment.

EU lawmakers are permitted to use parliamentary funds to cover the salaries of legitimate assistants but are barred from directing those funds towards party activities. She was handed a four-year prison sentence, two years of which were suspended, along with a fine of 100,000 euros and a five year ban on public office. Her party, now known as National Rally, was separately fined two million euros, half of which was suspended.

Le Pen, who finished second to President Emmanuel Macron in both the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, had been widely regarded as the front-runner to succeed him in 2027 before last year's ruling derailed her prospects. At her original trial she argued the funds had been used legitimately; on appeal, she maintained that her party had no sense of having done anything wrong.