French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has launched her presidential campaign after an appeals court shortened her ban from running for office, allowing her to take part in the 2027 election. Le Pen said voters would decide her future. “I’m a citizen like anyone else, who is using their rights,” she said on Wednesday, trying to brush aside legal troubles that her political opponents said would haunt her campaign for next spring’s presidential election.
Le Pen says she will appeal her conviction and run for the French presidency – Europe live as it happened
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On Tuesday, an appeals court upheld Le Pen’s conviction for playing a key role in organizing a fake-jobs scam of unprecedented size and duration. Le Pen, the figurehead of the far-right, anti-immigration National Rally party (RN), was found guilty of being at the center of embezzling more than €2.8 million (£2.4 million) in European Parliament funds and funneling the money into her party in Paris between 2004 and 2016.
Although her ban on running for office was shortened, opening the door to a presidential campaign, she was also given a form of one-year custodial sentence that would require her to wear an electronic ankle tag, restricting her movements to and from home. This sentence would have made campaigning difficult, and she had previously said she would not run for president under such restrictions. But Le Pen said on Wednesday she would appeal to France’s highest court, the Court of Cassation, on a point of law. While she files that appeal, her sentence will be put on hold. This meant she could run without wearing an electronic tag, she said.
In La Flèche, a town in La Sarthe, Le Pen arrived for a market walkabout while some left-wing protesters shouted “thief,” “criminal,” and “prison.” Crowds of supporters gathered to take selfies and cheer her on in the town, which recently elected an RN mayor.
Le Pen, who is seen as potentially reaching the final round of the presidential race, was asked by reporters if she was simply stalling the justice system by appealing on legal technicalities to France’s highest court. She said: “I’m not playing for time.” She said she was “innocent” of all charges.
Line graph depicting Marine Le Pen as favorite to win 2027 French presidential election
Facing a barrage of questions from reporters about the complexities of her legal case, Le Pen said: “I’m not going to spend the campaign on legal analysis … What I want now is to talk about politics because that is about French people’s futures and they want solutions to their daily problems like the cost of living, security issues, deindustrialization, and low salaries.”
But French politics is now dominated by the legal uncertainty surrounding Le Pen and whether there is any chance she could end up having to wear an electronic tag close to the two-round vote in April and May.
“Marine Le Pen is a delinquent,” said socialist MP Boris Vallaud. “She’s a delinquent who was convicted in a first trial [in 2025] and then on appeal [this week].”
Gabriel Attal, the former prime minister who hopes to run as a centrist, said: “Her candidacy is hanging by a legal thread.” He said Le Pen had taken the campaign “hostage.”
Manuel Bompard, of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left party, La France Insoumise, said it was “extraordinary” that Le Pen would decide to run just after an appeals court upheld her conviction for embezzlement.
Le Pen’s lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, admitted on French radio that running for president while appealing to France’s highest court was “a risk.”
The Court of Cassation had previously suggested it could return a verdict on Le Pen’s case early next year, although it usually takes longer. It is not required to examine the facts of the case, but only to rule on whether correct legal procedures were followed. If the court ruled in Le Pen’s favor that proper legal form was not respected, she would face another trial. But there would not be tIt’s time to organize a new trial before the presidential election.
If the court rules against Le Pen and decides the correct procedures were followed, her conviction and sentence would become final. In theory, she could be required to start serving her sentence with an electronic ankle bracelet in the weeks leading up to the election. However, setting up and fitting electronic monitoring often takes many months, which could allow her to become president without wearing a tag.
If Le Pen wins the presidency in May before an electronic tag is fitted, she would have presidential immunity during her time in office and would not have to wear an electronic tag until she leaves office.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of FAQs about Marine Le Pen launching her presidential campaign after having her ban reduced written in a natural tone with clear concise answers
Frequently Asked Questions
1 Wait what ban are we talking about I thought she was running for president
She was convicted of embezzling European Union funds The original punishment included a fiveyear ban from holding public office which would have prevented her from running in the 2027 election An appeals court recently reduced that ban
2 So is she allowed to run now or not
Yes the appeals court reduced the ban from five years to just one year This means the ban will expire well before the 2027 presidential election clearing the way for her to run
3 What exactly did she do to get banned in the first place
She and other members of her National Rally party were found guilty of using money meant for European Parliament assistants to instead pay for party staff in France Its a form of misuse of public funds
4 Why did the court reduce the ban
The appeals court felt the original fiveyear ban was too harsh given the specific circumstances of the case The judge decided a shorter ban was a more proportionate penalty
5 Did she win the appeal completely
No While the ban was reduced the court still upheld her guilty verdict and her prison sentence So she is still a convicted criminal just with a much shorter political ban
6 Does this mean shes definitely going to win the presidency now
Not at all It removes a huge legal obstacle which is a major win for her campaign However she still has to win over voters face other candidates and deal with the political fallout of her conviction It makes her a much stronger contender but victory is far from guaranteed
7 Whats her reaction to this news
She called it a victory for democracy and immediately launched her campaign framing herself as a victim of a political system trying to silence her
8 Could she still be banned again before the election
Its possible but unlikely for this specific case The prosecution could appeal this reduced sentence to a higher court but that process takes time A new conviction for a different offense could also create problems but for now the main legal
