Paris appeal court to rule on Marine Le Pen’s eligibility for 2027 presidential race

Paris court to decide on Marine Le Pen’s 2027 candidacy

The Paris appeal court will deliver its verdict at 13:30 (11:30 GMT) on Tuesday on whether Marine Le Pen can stand in the 2027 French presidential election after an embezzlement conviction that barred her from public office for five years.

Le Pen, 57, leader of National Rally (RN), was convicted on 31 March 2025 of embezzling €1.4m in European Parliament funds by using EP-paid assistants to work for her party between 2004 and 2016, a period when she served as an MEP from 2004 to 2017.

The original sentence included a five-year ban from holding public office and a four-year jail term, two years suspended and two to be served at home under an electronic tag. She appealed and denied organising the scheme, admitting only to “a mistake” that led some parliamentary aides to work for the party.

Prosecutors ask that the five-year ban remain and that the jail term be adjusted to include one year under an electronic tag and three years suspended. Le Pen says she would be unable to campaign effectively if required to wear a tag.

If the appeal results in acquittal, Le Pen would be free to run and maintain her political standing; if the court upholds a ban longer than two years, she would be ineligible because the previously imposed ban is already running from 31 March 2025.

The first round of the presidential election is scheduled for 18 April 2027 with a run-off on 2 May. Le Pen has polled strongly and, if unable to stand, has designated party chairman Jordan Bardella as her potential replacement.

Bardella, who has led RN since 2022 and joined Le Pen’s team in 2017, has repeatedly expressed loyalty and said he would accept the candidacy while Le Pen has indicated she would support him and could name him prime minister if she became president.

Twelve of the original 25 RN members tried in the same case were convicted in March 2025 and have appealed. Those convicted include Louis Aliot, Nicolas Bay, Bruno Gollnisch, Catherine Griset and Wallerand de Saint-Just, each receiving various sentences such as jail time with an electronic tag or bans from public office.

Le Pen has said she remains calm ahead of the verdict and will address the nation on television at 20:00 after the decision. She could still challenge any guilty appeal ruling at France’s Court of Cassation within 10 days, a process that would take months and hinder campaigning.