The paradox of French justice in all its glory. The Paris Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of Marine Le Pen, maintaining the penalty of deprivation of the right to run for public office for a total of 45 months, without however definitively ruling out the possibility of her being a candidate in the 2027 French presidential elections. The 57-year-old politician had appealed against the conviction of March 31, 2025, for misappropriating European Parliament funds, as part of the long-running legal case concerning the use of parliamentary assistants by the National Rally (RN) party.
The first-instance ruling
The first-instance court of Paris had imposed an immediate five-year deprivation of the right to hold public office on Marine Le Pen, an event that excluded her from participating in the presidential elections of April 2027, even while her appeal was pending. At the same time, a four-year prison sentence had been imposed on her, with two of those years suspended, alongside a financial fine amounting to 100,000 euros.
The decision of the Court of Appeal
In its highly anticipated decision, the Paris Court of Appeal ruled today, July 7, 2026, that Marine Le Pen remains guilty and imposed a total sentence of 45 months of deprivation of the right to be elected. However, as 30 months have already elapsed since the imposition of the initial penalty, 15 months remain for its completion. This means that, theoretically, she can submit a candidacy for the 2027 presidential elections. The court also maintained the 100,000-euro fine and imposed a prison sentence of three years, two of which are suspended. As a result, Marine Le Pen will have to serve one year under house arrest with electronic monitoring, wearing an ankle monitor.
The judges' reasoning
"The court finds that the offenses were particularly serious, lasted 11 years, and covered three parliamentary terms, despite the repeated warnings of the European Parliament regarding compliance with rules," stated the president of the court, Michèle Agi, according to AFP.
The next steps
Marine Le Pen and the prosecutor general of France have a deadline of ten days to appeal to the Court of Cassation, which examines the correct application of the law by lower courts in civil and criminal cases. However, the leader of the National Rally (RN) has already stated that she does not intend to engage in a new legal battle with an uncertain outcome, arguing that such a move would make an effective election campaign impossible. "You cannot start a presidential campaign at the last minute," she had told Causeur magazine last year, adding that she would not carry out an election campaign wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet.
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