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Le Pen avoids 2027 race ban but faces house arrest hurdle

Al Mayadeen | July 7, 2026

A Paris appeals court upheld Marine Le Pen’s conviction over the misuse of European Parliament funds, while reducing her electoral ban enough to keep open a possible path to France’s 2027 presidential election.

The ruling confirmed Le Pen’s guilt in a case centered on the diversion of European Parliament money intended for parliamentary assistants. Prosecutors said the funds were instead used to pay staff working for her National Rally party in France between 2004 and 2016. Le Pen has denied wrongdoing.

Although the court maintained the conviction, it shortened her ban from holding elected office. The sentence was reduced to 45 months, with 30 months suspended, leaving an active ban of 15 months. Since the restriction began with the lower court’s March 2025 ruling, it is set to expire before the first round of France’s presidential election, scheduled for April 18, 2027.

That decision means Le Pen is not automatically excluded from the race to succeed President Emmanuel Macron, who cannot seek a third consecutive term. But the same ruling imposed a separate sentence of house arrest, leaving her possible campaign clouded by practical and political obstacles.

House arrest complicates campaign

Le Pen was sentenced to three years in prison, two of them suspended, with the remaining year to be served under house arrest with electronic monitoring. She was also fined €100,000.

The house arrest sentence now stands as the main obstacle to her candidacy. Before the verdict, Le Pen had said she would not run for the presidency if she had to campaign while wearing an ankle monitor, arguing that such restrictions would make it impossible to travel freely, attend rallies, and conduct a proper national campaign.

The appeals ruling therefore leaves Le Pen in a politically complicated position. Legally, her path to the 2027 election remains open. Practically, however, her ability to campaign could be limited by the conditions attached to her sentence.

Party faces strategic decision

Le Pen left the court without speaking to reporters after the verdict. She is expected to clarify her position later on Tuesday.

The decision also places the National Rally before a major strategic choice. If Le Pen decides not to run, party president Jordan Bardella, her 30-year-old protégé, is widely seen as the most likely figure to replace her as the far-right bloc’s presidential candidate.

For now, the ruling has not ended Le Pen’s presidential ambitions. Instead, it has shifted the central question from whether she is legally allowed to run to whether she is willing to campaign for the presidency while under house arrest.

July 7, 2026 - Posted by | Civil Liberties |

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