A Paris appeals court opened the door Tuesday for Marine Le Pen to potentially run for the French presidency next year, even as it found her guilty of misusing public funds and ordered her to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Le Pen has said in the past that campaigning while wearing a bracelet simply wouldn’t be workable. But Tuesday’s ruling gives her room to reconsider that position. Her lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, described the outcome as a partial victory. “It’s a good start,” he said, according to the Associated Press.
What the Court Actually Found
The court determined Le Pen had overseen misuse of European Parliament funds by her National Rally party, specifically by using money meant for EU parliamentary assistants to instead pay party staff. Le Pen has consistently denied committing any crime, though she acknowledged the party made what she called a “mistake.”
All 11 people charged in the case, including Le Pen, several party members, and the party itself, had their guilty verdicts upheld by the appeals court. That said, the court did soften the penalties originally handed down by a lower court last year.
Why This Matters for Her Presidential Run
The most consequential change involved her ban from holding elected office. That ban was originally set at five years back in March 2025, but the appeals court cut it down to 45 months, with two thirds of that time suspended. Since Le Pen has already served 15 months under the ban imposed after the first verdict, this obstacle to her potential fourth presidential campaign has essentially been cleared.
Her prison sentence was reduced as well. It has been dropped from four years, with two suspended, down to three years, with two suspended. That leaves one year of prison time remaining, though it would be served at home using an electronic bracelet rather than behind bars.
An Open Question About Campaigning
Whether Le Pen believes she can actually run a campaign under those conditions remains unclear. She left the courthouse Tuesday without speaking to television crews waiting outside, though she’s expected to address the verdict later today evening during a televised interview.
Her hesitation isn’t new. Ahead of the ruling, Le Pen had signaled that if the court imposed conditions that made campaigning too difficult, she might step aside from the race altogether. Electronic monitoring was specifically one of the scenarios she mentioned as potentially disqualifying.
“If I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible,” Le Pen said in an interview last week.
Who Would Step In If She Doesn’t Run
Should Le Pen ultimately decide the bracelet makes a real campaign impossible, her successor at the party, Jordan Bardella, would take her place as the National Rally’s presidential candidate. Bardella, 30, currently serves as president of the party that Le Pen led for years before him.