&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "French court upholds Marine Le Pen's conviction but clears path for 2027 election")
French National Rally Chief Marine Le Pen has been cleared to participate in the Presidential Election in 2027. The court upheld her conviction for embezzling European parliament funds, but shortened her ban from running the office, and conditioned that she has to wear an electronic ankle bracelet for at least one year. This significantly reduces the potential of her movement for the Presidential campaign, which her far-right party has the strongest chance of winning.
Why was Le Pen on trial?
57-year-old Le Pen had been subjected to a five-year ban from running for the office and a two-year sentence by a lower court in 2025 over a fake job scam. The sentence has been reduced to 15 months ban from running in the election and one in which she must wear an electronic ankle tag for monitoring. The first trial found Le Pen, along with 24 former European lawmakers, assistants and accountants, as well as the anti-immigration party itself, used European Parliament funds to appoint National Rally staff between 2004 and 2016. Le Pen claimed that she acted in “good faith” and said that her party was accused of “witch hunting”.
Le Pen is increasing her numbers consistently
Le Pen had unsuccessfully run for the French presidency three times and consistently gained on her opponents. She secured third position in her first attempt in 2012, then she reached the second round in 2017 but was defeated heavily by Macron. In 2022, she narrowed the gap by registering 41.4 per cent of the vote against Macron.
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Le Pen had earlier expressed her willingness to run for the office in 2027, but suggested that she would not run if her sentence was reduced and if her movements were restricted or she had to wear an electronic tag. “If I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible,” said Le Pen. Le Pen's lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, has said that she is 'Partially' happy with the verdict.
A recent poll has found that the far right has a significant chance of securing a victory in the first round of next year's vote, but is divided on a second round outcome. While some suggestions include slightly better results for Jordan Bardella, President of the National Rally. While her adversaries point to her as a formidable opponent.
