“PARIS -- French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she plans to run in next year's presidential elections, mounting a campaign that faces a legal minefield stemming from her conviction for misusing European Parliament funds.
Le Pen announced the decision after appellate judges reduced a lower-court sentence from March 2025 that had barred her from seeking office for five years. Judges narrowed the effective ban to the 15 months the politician has already observed, clearing a path for Le Pen to run.
The court, however, sentenced her to a three-year prison term, with two of the years suspended. The remaining year, judges said, could be served wearing an electronic bracelet, raising the possibility that Le Pen will have to campaign under judicial surveillance.
On Tuesday, Le Pen said she was undeterred.
"Tonight, I'm a candidate for the presidential election," she said in a TV interview. Le Pen said she planned to file an appeal with France's high court, but she added that the court of public opinion will be her ultimate judge. "It's the French people who will have the last word," she said.
Le Pen's decision to run for France's highest office despite her criminal conviction is unprecedented. The announcement, along with the court ruling, whipsawed France's political establishment, which had been preparing for a realignment of the country's political order in the event the ban was upheld. Le Pen had designated her 30-year-old protege, Jordan Bardella, as her National Rally party's presidential candidate if she were unable to run.
Now, Le Pen is expected to enter the race as a front-runner. President Emmanuel Macron is term-limited and other prominent contenders haven't emerged. Le Pen has been the standard-bearer of antiestablishment politics in France since she took over her father Jean-Marie Le Pen's far-right party in 2011.
Le Pen's appeal to the high court will suspend her requirement to wear an electronic bracelet until January when the high court is expected to rule on her case. If the high court upholds Tuesday's ruling, however, Le Pen would be required to wear the bracelet under conditions set by a separate judge. That raises questions about how much latitude Le Pen will have to campaign in the final months leading up to the April elections. Convicts sentenced to wear an electronic bracelet are typically subject to judicial approval to leave their home.
Le Pen also runs the risk of being disqualified by France's constitutional court when she officially submits her candidacy, said Benjamin Morel, a professor of public law at Paris-Pantheon-Assas University.
The appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Le Pen and other lawmakers in her party illegally used millions of euros in EU funding that was earmarked for assistants helping lawmakers in the European Parliament with their work. Instead, judges said, Le Pen and her lawmakers used the money to pay party staffers, including members of Le Pen's family, who weren't involved in work for the Parliament.
"I believe we're innocent of this crime of embezzlement for which we've been convicted," Le Pen said Tuesday evening.” [1]
1. World News: Le Pen to Run for Presidency In 2027 After Court Clears Way --- French far-right leader to mount campaign while appealing conviction. Bisserbe, Noemie; Meichtry, Stacy. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 08 July 2026: A7.
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