Court reduces Marine Le Pen's ban; potential path to presidential run

A Paris appeals court has delivered a ruling on Marine Le Pen's appeal against her conviction for embezzlement of public funds that could, at least in principle, allow the far-right figurehead to run in next year's presidential election. The court upheld the lower court's March 2025 verdict that found Le Pen guilty of misusing EU funds, but reduced both parts of the original sentence: a ban on holding public office and a part-suspended jail term.

The appeals court handed the three-time presidential candidate, who has transformed her far-right National Rally (RN) from an extreme fringe group to the largest single party in the French parliament, a 45-month ban from office, 30 months of which were suspended. It also ruled that Le Pen, 57, must serve a three-year jail term, with two suspended and the third spent under house arrest with an electronic ankle tag.

In March 2025, the lower court had sentenced Le Pen to a five-year ban from holding public office, with immediate effect, and a four-year prison term, with two years suspended – effectively putting her fourth run for France's presidency on hold until an appeal was heard.

The case involved Le Pen and 23 former MEPs, assistants and accountants, as well as the National Rally party, accused of running a system that used money meant for employing European parliamentary assistants to pay staff working for the party in France. The defendants were suspected of having embezzled €4.4m between 2004 and 2016.

The appeals court said after its decision that it had aimed to "assess the penalty in light of any infringement of the right to stand for election", arguing that "voters' freedom of choice – a prerequisite for the expression of the democratic vote – must be a consideration." By reducing her ineligibility for office to 15 months (45 months in total, with 30 months suspended), it ensured she could, in principle, run for the presidency, since the 15 months began with the lower court verdict in March last year.

However, by ordering her to wear an electronic bracelet for a year, it has made it very difficult, politically and practically, for her to do so – although the exact terms of house arrest and electronic tagging must be decided by a different judge in the coming weeks. In principle, an order of "house arrest under electronic monitoring" implies leaving home only during fixed, pre-agreed hours to go to fixed, pre-agreed destinations.

Le Pen has repeatedly said in recent months that she would not run for the presidency if obliged to wear an electronic ankle tag, saying that it would be impossible to campaign effectively without being completely free in her movements. However, the period for which an ankle tag must be worn can be reduced. Anyone who has been "deprived of their liberty" is entitled, with good conduct and after presenting the right guarantees, to request their sentence be cut by up to six months for every year. Le Pen could decide to go down that route, but it would mean starting her campaign very late and could damage the chances of her anointed lieutenant, 30-year-old Jordan Bardella, if the request were rejected. She is expected to announce her decision in an interview on French television on Tuesday evening.