French appeals court permits Marine Le Pen to run for president but mandates ankle monitor
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A Paris appeals court reduced Marine Le Pen's ban from holding office, allowing her to stand in the 2027 presidential election if she complies with a year-long electronic ankle tag, a condition she says would hinder her campaign.
A Paris appeals court on Tuesday shortened the five-year ban on Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally, allowing her to run in France's 2027 presidential election. The ruling, which upheld her conviction for misusing European Union funds, requires her to wear an electronic ankle tag for one year, a restriction the far-right politician says would make campaigning impractical.
Le Pen, 57, was convicted in March 2023 of diverting €1.4 million of EU parliamentary allowances to pay two party members as parliamentary assistants, a practice deemed illegal under EU rules that prohibit using such funds for party activities. She received a four-year prison sentence, with two years suspended, and a €100,000 fine, while the party was fined €2 million, half of which was suspended.
"If I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible," Le Pen said in a recent interview.
The former presidential runner-up, who placed second to Emmanuel Macron in both 2017 and 2022, indicated she would run only if she could campaign without the tag. She is expected to address the issue in a prime-time interview on TF1.
Le Pen could still appeal to France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, which may decide whether to suspend the sentence pending a final ruling before the election.
National Rally leader Jordan Bardella, who succeeded Le Pen as party president in 2021, posted on X praising her and arguing that excluding her from the ballot would deny voters a choice.