Appeals Court Clears Le Pen for 2027 French Presidential Race but Imposes 15-Month Office Ban

A Paris appeals court ruled Tuesday that Marine Le Pen may stand in France’s 2027 presidential election while upholding her conviction for misusing European Parliament funds and imposing a 15-month ban from holding office. The court’s decision came after Le Pen appealed a March 2025 lower-court verdict that had sentenced her to four years in prison, two suspended, with the remainder to be served under home detention, and a five-year ban from elected office.

the case The lower court found that Le Pen and 24 others used European Parliament funds between 2004 and 2016 to pay staff working for her political party rather than for parliamentary duties. Investigators traced the practice to a system in which parliamentary assistants were listed on EU payrolls but performed party work in France.

The lower court ordered Le Pen to pay a €100,000 fine and fined the party €2 million, half of it suspended.

She has previously stated she would not run if final resolution of the case extends past the campaign period. Polls have shown her party leading for the first round of the 2027 vote.