Paris court to rule on Marine Le Pen's 2027 presidential bid after embezzlement conviction
A Paris appeals court will announce at 13:30 whether Marine Le Pen can run in France's 2027 presidential election, after her 2025 conviction for misusing EU funds.
The verdict
Three judges at the Paris appeals court are expected to deliver their ruling at 13:30 on 7 July 2026. The decision will determine whether Marine Le Pen, the 57-year-old figurehead of the right-wing populist Rassemblement National (RN), is eligible to stand in the presidential election scheduled for 18 April and 2 May 2027. Le Pen plans to announce at 20:00 whether she will pursue the candidacy.
Background
Le Pen was convicted in March 2025 of embezzling European Parliament funds. The court found that between 2004 and 2016, the RN had used approximately €1.4 million intended for parliamentary assistants to shore up the party's own finances. She was sentenced to four years in prison (two suspended, two with an electronic bracelet) and barred from holding public office for five years, with the ban taking immediate effect. Le Pen appealed, calling the verdict a political decision, but later acknowledged organisational errors while denying fraudulent intent.
If you are a candidate, you need full freedom of movement.
Possible scenarios
Several outcomes are possible. A full acquittal is considered unlikely, as no new exculpatory evidence was presented. If the court upholds the five-year ban, Le Pen's fourth presidential run is effectively over; an appeal to the Court of Cassation would almost certainly not be resolved before the election. A reduced ban, for example two years, could allow her to run because the ban has been in effect since late March 2025 and would expire before the first round. The prosecution has requested a slightly milder sentence but insists on maintaining the ban. A conviction without a ban is also possible, but Le Pen has said she would not campaign while wearing an electronic bracelet.
- Le Pen convicted of embezzling EU funds, sentenced to four years and a five-year ban from office, effective immediately.
- Appeal process unfolds; Le Pen acknowledges organisational errors but denies fraudulent intent.
- Paris appeals court delivers its verdict on the ban and sentence.
- Le Pen announces whether she will pursue the presidency.
- First round of the French presidential election.
- Runoff round of the presidential election.
Plan B: Bardella
If Le Pen is barred, the RN's backup candidate is Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old party chairman. Bardella has been positioning himself more visibly in recent months and currently polls slightly ahead of Le Pen. At a summer festival in Liévin over the weekend, Le Pen pledged to support him "with great energy, great conviction and great trust" should she be unable to run. Bardella, in turn, expressed his "unconditional support" for Le Pen and his hope that she would be elected president.
It is the first time that a likely candidate – and a favourite like Marine Le Pen – could be prevented from running by a court ruling.
Political stakes
Le Pen has run for president three times, twice reaching the runoff against Emmanuel Macron, who is term-limited and cannot stand again. The verdict will reshape the 2027 race. A Le Pen candidacy would make her the RN's standard-bearer once more; a ban would hand the mantle to Bardella and test the party's unity. The decision is being watched across the French political spectrum, with even some of Le Pen's opponents uneasy about a court effectively determining the candidate field.
