Paris court eases Le Pen ban, reviving 2027 presidential bid

A Paris appeals court kept Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction in place on Tuesday but shortened the ban that had threatened to block her from France’s 2027 presidential race. The ruling gave the National Rally leader a route back into the contest, even as it confirmed the underlying case over European Parliament funds.

The court set Le Pen’s ineligibility period at 45 months, with 30 months suspended, a revision that means the effective restriction would expire before the first round of the election on April 18, 2027. Le Pen said she would run for president anyway and take the fight to France’s highest court, turning the ruling into the latest stage of a legal battle that now sits alongside her campaign.

That legal and political dual track is central to Le Pen’s strategy. She is trying to present herself as a credible national candidate while campaigning under the shadow of a criminal conviction, a posture that can energize her anti-establishment base but also tests her claim to electoral seriousness and institutional respect. Earlier this month, she had said she would not run if forced to wear an electronic bracelet, and the question of whether she could remain eligible by April 18 now shapes the practical path to her candidacy.

The case centered on allegations that National Rally, the party formerly known as the National Front, used European Parliament money to pay staff for work that benefited the party in France rather than parliamentary duties in Strasbourg. French courts found a scheme involving Le Pen and other party figures, with the amount misused put at about 2.9 million euros.

The decision matters beyond Le Pen’s own legal exposure. President Emmanuel Macron cannot seek another term in 2027 because he is constitutionally term-limited, leaving the field open at a moment when Le Pen has been one of the country’s most prominent far-right figures and a leading contender. By reducing the ban while preserving the conviction, the court left voters facing a familiar but sharper question: whether Le Pen’s legal jeopardy weakens her or reinforces the outsider appeal that has powered her rise.