French far-right politician Marine Le Pen declared her candidacy for the 2027 presidential election after a court reduced her ban from holding public office. Le Pen faced uncertainty since March 2025 when she was banned for five years for misusing European Parliament funds to pay National Rally party staff wages in France.
Despite upholding her misuse conviction, the Paris appeals court diminished the office ban, enabling the 57-year-old to pursue next year’s election. Leading in polls for the upcoming election, Le Pen, unsuccessful in three previous presidential bids, hopes voters will overlook her guilty verdict.
During a televised interview on TF1 TV, she confirmed her candidacy, previously suggesting she would not run if placed under electronic monitoring, as it could hinder her campaign. Her party had been readying her protege, Jordan Bardella, as a potential candidate. Le Pen plans to challenge the recent ruling in France’s highest court and will not require an electronic tag during the campaign until the court’s decision.
The recent judgment renders Le Pen ineligible for public office for 45 months, with 30 months suspended, fulfilling the required 15-month ban. Despite affirming her guilt, the court considered “voter’s freedom of choice” crucial for democratic suffrage, reducing her suspended jail term to two years with one year of electronic monitoring.
Le Pen and Bardella currently lead in election polls, with the RN emerging as the largest party in the National Assembly. However, France’s parliament remains divided among the far right, hard left, and the center. Green leader Marine Tondelier criticized Le Pen’s candidacy, stating that in a morally upright world, she would withdraw from the election post-conviction of misappropriating public funds.
The conviction arose from the misuse of funds allocated for European Parliament assistants by RN members. In 2025, judges found Le Pen central to the scheme, a claim she disputed. The recent ruling confirmed her embezzlement guilt.