The Paris Court of Appeal has issued a final ruling in favor of French politician Marine Le Pen , convicting her in a case of embezzling public funds belonging to the European Parliament during the period from 2009 to 2016, in her capacity as a member of the European Parliament and leader of the National Rally party.
The court affirmed that the actions attributed to the leader of the far-right National Rally party were "serious," given their continuation for nearly eleven years, the amount of money involved, and the breach of trust that the European Parliament places in its representatives. It also noted that these actions undermined the principle of equal opportunity among political parties.
The court therefore sentenced Ms. Le Pen to three years in prison, two of which were suspended, with the remaining year to be served under electronic monitoring. She was also fined €100,000.
She was also sentenced to a 45-month ban from running for office, 30 months of which were suspended. The presiding judge explained that 15 months of this sentence had already been served since the end of March 2025, meaning that part of the sentence had been fulfilled.
Marine Le Pen had previously stated that she did not intend to run an election campaign if she was forced to wear an electronic bracelet, raising doubts about her actual participation in the upcoming presidential election.
Based on this ruling, Marine Le Pen could theoretically run in the next French presidential election in April 2027, as her period of ineligibility has partially expired. However, her legal situation remains complicated due to her being subject to a year-long electronic monitoring ban.
Marine Le Pen had previously stated that she did not intend to run an election campaign if she was forced to wear an electronic bracelet, raising doubts about her actual participation in the upcoming presidential election.
In its reasoning, the court stressed that it had taken into account the principle of “freedom of candidacy” and “freedom of choice of voters,” as they are pillars of democratic expression, which was reflected in reducing some aspects of the penalty compared to the initial ruling, which had ruled that she was ineligible for five years with immediate implementation.
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