Marine Le Pen appeal verdict: A decisive moment for France's presidential election
A Paris appeal court will decide Tuesday whether Marine Le Pen can run for president in 2027 after her conviction for embezzling EU funds.
The Paris appeal court is set to deliver its verdict on Tuesday at 13:30 (11:30 GMT), determining Marine Le Pen's ability to stand in next year's French presidential election. The 57-year-old leader of the National Rally (RN) has run for president three times, losing to Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and 2022. She currently leads in opinion polls, but if barred, party chairman Jordan Bardella would replace her.
Le Pen was convicted on March 31, 2025, for embezzling €1.4 million from European Parliament (EP) funds. The court imposed a five-year ban on holding public office, a four-year prison sentence (two suspended, two to be served at home with an electronic tag), and found Le Pen was "at the heart" of the scheme. The charges cover 2004-2016, when she was an MEP.
During the appeal hearings in January and February, Le Pen denied orchestrating a scam but admitted to "a mistake" that led some parliamentary aides to work for the party's benefit. Prosecutors seek to uphold the five-year ban and a reduced prison term: one year with an electronic tag and three years suspended. Le Pen has said it is "not possible" to campaign while wearing a tag.
Possible verdicts:
- Acquittal (considered unlikely) – would allow her to run.
- Guilty with a ban longer than two years – would disqualify her, as the ban clock started in March 2025.
- Guilty with a ban of two years or less – would permit her candidacy.
- Guilty with an electronic tag – Le Pen argues this would hinder her campaign.
Le Pen could appeal to the Court of Cassation, but that would take months. She has indicated she likely would not. She will give a TV interview Tuesday evening after the verdict.
Jordan Bardella, who has led RN since 2022, has been endorsed as Plan B. Le Pen said if barred, Bardella would run and she would support him. Recent polls show Bardella slightly ahead of Le Pen for the first round.
Of the original 25 RN members on trial, 12 were convicted and 12 appealed. They include RN vice-president Louis Aliot, former secretary general Nicolas Bay, Bruno Gollnisch, and former Le Pen aide Catherine Griset.
