Paris Appeals Court Reduces Le Pen Election Ban to 15 Months With Electronic Tag

A Paris appeals court on Tuesday upheld Marine Le Pen's conviction for embezzling European Parliament funds but reduced the five-year ban on holding elected office to 15 months and ordered her to wear an electronic tag. The ruling leaves Le Pen eligible to stand in the April 2027 presidential election.

The court maintained the four-year prison sentence handed down by the lower court last March, with two years suspended. Le Pen, 57, leads the National Rally party. She finished third in the 2012 presidential election and lost runoffs to Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and 2022.

The conviction stems from findings that Le Pen and 24 co-defendants diverted EU funds between 2004 and 2016 to pay National Rally staff working in France rather than at the European Parliament. During the appeal proceedings, Le Pen acknowledged a mistake regarding the staff arrangements.

Prosecutors had sought to maintain the original five-year ban and requested a four-year prison term with three years suspended.

The appeals court decision means any new ban will not take immediate effect, allowing Le Pen to participate in the 2027 race unless further legal action intervenes. The original lower court ruling had imposed the ban with immediate effect starting 31 March of last year.

The vessels' operators have not been publicly identified by the U.S. government.