After the Appeals Court ruling, Le Pen confirmed that she will be a presidential candidate in 2027 and will appeal the conviction
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Marine Le Pen can keep her aspirations of reaching the Élysée Palace alive after the Court of Appeal significantly reduced the sentence against her in the case of the alleged misappropriation of European funds when she was an MEP. The court's decision lowered the disqualification period for holding public office from five years to 15 months, a change that allows her to run in the 2027 presidential elections and represents a significant victory for the leader of the National Rally.
The ruling marks a shift from the initial sentence handed down on March 31, 2025, when Le Pen was convicted of misappropriating public funds during her time in the European Parliament. At that time, the French justice system imposed a four-year prison sentence, two of which were to be served in custody, a fine of 100,000 euros, and a five-year disqualification with immediate effect, a decision that seemed to practically rule out her participation in the upcoming presidential race.
After several months of deliberation, the Court of Appeal substantially modified that ruling. In addition to reducing the disqualification to 15 months, it reduced the prison sentence from four to three years suspended and imposed one year of monitoring via an electronic bracelet. By counting the disqualification period from the initial ruling, the sanction would expire before the start of the presidential campaign, clearing the main legal obstacle facing the right-wing leader.
Marine Le Pen will be able to run for the presidential elections of 2027 after a ruling by the French judiciary that reduces her sentence
At the opening of the hearing, the president of the Court of Appeal, Michèle Agi, stated that the facts judged were serious due to the amount of funds allegedly misappropriated and because they involved public representatives responsible for managing taxpayer resources. However, the court maintained that it also had to ensure the proportionality of the sanction and protect citizens' right to freely choose their representatives, an argument that ultimately tipped the scales toward a reduction of the sentence.
Marine Le Pen herself received the news with evident satisfaction. Shortly after the ruling was announced, she stated that she will continue to use all available legal resources to prove her innocence and completely overturn the conviction. "I want to exhaust all legal avenues to defend my innocence in this case," she declared, announcing that she would appeal to the Court of Cassation.
The leader also expressed her hope of avoiding the use of the electronic bracelet while the appeal is resolved. She explained that the presentation before the highest judicial authority would suspend the effects of that part of the sentence, allowing her to conduct her electoral campaign normally.
The justice of France stated that it must protect the right of citizens to choose their representatives
Hours later, she appeared on the main news program of the TF1 network alongside the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, where she officially confirmed that she will be a candidate in the presidential elections scheduled for 2027. "Yes, I will be a candidate for the presidential elections", she affirmed, dispelling any doubts about her political plans.
Le Pen explained that the decision was agreed upon with Bardella, who has long been considered her main political heir. Although the young leader, 30 years old, was even seen as a favorite in some recent polls, both ruled out any internal rivalry and assured that they would face the campaign together.
"We are a winning duo and we have winning solutions," declared Le Pen, who assured that Bardella would hold the position of prime minister if they manage to reach the presidency. The right-wing leader insisted that they both maintain a relationship of absolute trust and that their personal ambitions have never interfered with the political project of the National Rally.
During the interview, Marine Le Pen reiterated that she never committed a crime and maintained that the lengthy judicial process jeopardized not only her political future but also the possibility for millions of French citizens to freely choose their preferred candidate. Although in the appeal she moderated her tone towards the judicial system, she insisted that she always considered the process disproportionate.
Le Pen and Jordan Bardella agreed that the right-wing legislator will be the candidate in 2027 and the young contender will hold the position of prime minister in case of winning the elections
The case against Marine Le Pen
The case dates back to her time as an MEP and revolves around the alleged diversion of approximately 4.4 million euros between 2004 and 2016 through contracts deemed fictitious by the French justice system. According to the prosecution, those European resources were used to finance activities of the then National Front, a party that later became known as the National Rally.
Alongside Le Pen, ten other leaders and collaborators of the political formation were also convicted, including the mayor of Perpignan, Louis Aliot. During the trial, the prosecution argued that there was a systematic organization aimed at using funds from the European Parliament for the party's internal purposes.
The leader, however, repeatedly denied those accusations. In the appeal phase, she acknowledged that there may have been administrative errors in the management of some resources, but insisted that there was never any intention to illegally appropriate public money.
Throughout the process, Le Pen denounced that the case had a strong political component and claimed that it was an attempt to prevent her from coming to power through judicial means. Before the ruling was known, she stated that she had always contemplated the possibility of receiving "a judicial bullet," although she warned that she would continue to defend her ideas regardless of the outcome.
The case against Le Pen dates back to an alleged embezzlement of funds between 2004 and 2016 towards the party that is now identified as National Rally
Jordan Bardella was one of her main supporters throughout the entire procedure. The president of the National Rally publicly reiterated his absolute support and praised Le Pen's strength in the face of a process that never weakened the political growth of the party.
The resolution also comes at a decisive moment for French politics, as the dates for the upcoming presidential elections have recently been set, with the first round taking place on April 18, 2027, and the second on May 2.
Although the European Prosecutor's Office recently opened a new investigation related to the use of European funds by nationalist parties in several countries, including France, Le Pen believes that the ruling of the Court of Appeal represents a decisive step toward fully recovering her political rights.
After reaching the second round of the presidential elections in 2017 and 2022 against Emmanuel Macron and consolidating the National Rally as one of the main political forces in the country, the leader now faces a new opportunity to try to conquer the presidency. With the judicial relief obtained and the support of her party, Le Pen is once again among the figures with the greatest chances of contesting the leadership of France in the 2027 elections, while she continues to defend her innocence and hopes that the Court of Cassation will definitively overturn the conviction.
Bardella offered his full support to Le Pen during the legal case and will continue working with the right-wing leader in the future
