France: Will Le Pen be barred from the French presidency? ⁰

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s political fate will be decided on Tuesday when a Paris appeals court rules on whether she is eligible to run in the 2027 presidential elections, a verdict with major implications for France’s future. Le Pen is appealing her 2025 conviction for embezzling European Parliament funds to pay employees in her party.

The long-awaited verdict holds major implications for France’s political future. After months of waiting, the Paris Court of Appeal is due to rule on Tuesday on whether France’s far-right figurehead, Marine Le Pen, is eligible to run in the country’s 2027 presidential elections.

Le Pen, the long-time face of the National Rally (RN) party, is appealing a 2025 case in which she was convicted of embezzling European Parliament funds to pay her party’s employees. The conviction led to her being barred from running for public office for five years.

An acquittal is considered unlikely. But Le Pen might also see her penalty reduced, which could allow her to run for office. Or she could face a renewed conviction in line with the prosecution’s demands – effectively quashing any hopes of running for the presidency.

Le Pen has already run for president three times, but her popularity has risen significantly since her last attempt in 2022. As the clear front-runner in the polls for both the first and second rounds of the upcoming elections, she is well aware that her political fate lies with the July 7 decision.

“If the prosecution’s demands are upheld, I will be prevented from running,” she told French channel TF1-LCI on February 3.

In a separate interview with RTL in November 2025, when the appeal was scheduled for September, Le Pen also expressed her commitment to the broader far-right vision of the RN, even at the cost of her candidacy.

“I am not going to let things drag on, because I am committed to seeing our ideas come to power. If I am barred from running, but the Court of Cassation (the highest court in the French judicial system) rules in my favour three or four months later, it will be too late to run a proper presidential campaign,” she said.

Many legal experts believe Le Pen’s guilt was proven during the appeals trial. The judges are likely to follow the prosecution’s recommendations: a four-year prison sentence – with one year to be served in custody (eligible for electronic monitoring), a €100,000 fine and a five-year ban on holding public office. The verdict will not be immediately enforced.

Source: France 24