French Court Upholds Le Pen Conviction but Shortens Election Ban, Allowing Her Candidacy

Marine Le Pen extended her lead in a voter preference poll ahead of next April’s French presidential election after appeal judges cleared her to enter the race by shortening a previous ban on her standing from five years to 15 months. The Paris court of appeals upheld her conviction for embezzling European Union funds but reduced the election ban, time that has already expired.

Fortune reported that Le Pen would receive between 34% and 35.5% of the vote in the first round if held this Sunday, according to an Elabe poll for BFM TV and La Tribune Dimanche.

That figure is 3 percentage points higher than in a March survey. The online poll of 1,503 adults was conducted Thursday and Friday with a margin of error between 1.4 and 3.1 percentage points. Edouard Philippe, a former centrist prime minister, was favored by as many as 19% in one of six scenarios tested.

Le Pen would beat Philippe and other tested rivals in a runoff scheduled for May 2. Le Pen declared her candidacy on Tuesday. The court also handed her a one-year jail term that judges said would not involve prison but would likely require wearing an electronic tag for part of it.

She said she is appealing to France’s top court and has calculated that she will be in a position to be elected president. “She’s in the lead among retirees and in major urban areas, and is neck and neck with Edouard Philippe among the working population,” said Bernard Sananes, head of Elabe.