France: Despite guilty verdict, Le Pen eligible to run in 2027 election with electronic bracelet
French appeals court upholds far-right leader Le Pen's conviction for misusing public funds. While ineligible to hold office for 45 months, she can run in 2027 with electronic monitoring bracelet
A Paris Court of Appeal on Tuesday found far-right leader Marine Le Pen guilty in the National Rally's European Parliament assistants case, ruling that European Parliament funds had been misused to finance party activities.
The court sentenced Le Pen to three years in prison, including one year to be served under electronic monitoring and two years suspended. It also barred her from holding public office for 15 months. The judges ruled that the money involved constituted public funds and found that the parliamentary assistant contracts formed part of a broader system that benefited the National Rally.
The case centers on allegations that between 2004 and 2016, Le Pen, the National Rally, and several senior party officials used parliamentary assistants paid by the European Parliament to carry out work for the party rather than parliamentary duties.
The ruling casts fresh uncertainty over Le Pen's long-standing ambition to run in France's 2027 presidential election. Le Pen has previously said she would not campaign while serving a sentence under electronic monitoring, raising questions about her ability to mount another presidential bid.
France's next presidential election is scheduled for April 18 and May 2, 2027. Should Le Pen be unable to run, National Rally president Jordan Bardella is widely seen as the party's leading alternative candidate.