©picture alliance / Anadolu | Mustafa Yalcin
It's not yet clear whether she will actually officially declare her candidacy, as she previously stated she would not run for the French presidency if she were required to wear an ankle monitor. However, the court has already ruled that Marine Le Pen is indeed allowed to run for the Élysée.
Marine Le Pen was sentenced on appeal to three years in prison, including one year under electronic ankle monitoring, and is barred from running for office for 15 months. According to French media, this ruling essentially means that the leader of the far-right Rassemblement National can still participate in the 2027 presidential election, though it remains unclear how the legal details will ultimately be interpreted.
The ruling follows an earlier conviction in the case involving the misuse of the European Parliament’s budget. In the first instance, in March 2025, Le Pen received a prison sentence that could be served partly at home, along with a severe ban on holding public office that took effect immediately. That is precisely what made the appeal so crucial: the court could uphold, increase, or reduce the sentence.
Le Pen had already made it clear beforehand that she did not want to campaign while wearing an ankle monitor. She will respond to the ruling later today on TF1 news. Within her party, the official line remains united, but behind the scenes, questions are growing as to whether the party should instead back Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old chairman of the RN.
For Le Pen, the stakes are high. After all, she has been considered one of the leading contenders to succeed Emmanuel Macron in the polls for years, but any confirmation of her conviction carries the risk that her presidential dream could still be seriously complicated.
©picture alliance / Anadolu | Mustafa Yalcin