French appeal judges have upheld a conviction against Marine Le Pen but have opened the door to her running in presidential elections next year if she is wearing an electronic tagging bracelet.

The reprieve throws open next year’s presidential contest as most of her political rivals had not expected her to run.

Le Pen has previously said she would not campaign while wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet because it would leave her “dependent on a judge to authorise me to go hold a campaign rally… or to visit a market,” she told the LCI broadcaster last week.

“The judge responsible for enforcing the sentence will have to summon her and determine the conditions, which can be quite restrictive,” said a former judge from the French financial prosecutor’s office.

“She could be required to remain at home, or only be allowed out during certain hours but [the judge] has wide discretion. The purpose of electronic monitoring is to allow the person to continue working. She could cite her presidential candidacy as part of that assessment. It could simply mean that she has to spend the night at home.”

‘Serious offences’ upheld

Le Pen, 57, had appealed a 31 March, 2025 conviction for embezzling European Parliament funds in the long-running case over the National Rally’s use of parliamentary assistants.

The Paris court of first instance had imposed an immediate five-year ban from holding public office, preventing her from standing in the April 2027 presidential election, even while her appeal was pending. She was also sentenced to four years in prison, two of them suspended, and fined €100,000.

In a much anticipated ruling, judges on the Paris Court of Appeal ruled on Tuesday that Le Pen remained guilty and upheld a sentence 45 months of ineligibility for office.

But judges suspended 30 months, leaving 15 months running from March last year meaning that it is already served and she can register a presidential bid if she chooses to.

The court also imposed a fine of €100,000 and a prison sentence of three years, with two years suspended and one 12-month period that can be served under electronic monitoring wearing a bracelet tag.

“The court finds that the offences were serious, spanning 11 years and three parliamentary terms, despite repeated warnings from the European Parliament about compliance with the rules,” said Michèle Agi, the president of the court, according to AFP.

According to BFM, the judges emphasised the need to “respect the freedom to stand for election without restricting the choice of voters.”

‘Lowering the temperature’

A former judge from the French financial prosecutor’s office, that is in charge of investigating serious financial crime, said that the ruling showed “a desire to lower the temperature”.

“The judiciary was heavily criticised for having gone too far,” he said in reference to the original conviction.

“The court has not questioned the principle of the ban from holding public office, but it has crafted a more tailored approach, taking into account the fact that the provisional enforcement has already had its effect and that the damage has already been done.”

A judicial source said the ruling put Le Pen “in the face of her own contradiction” by forcing her to choose between accepting the judgment or pursuing another appeal.

“If she appealed this decision, the ruling would be suspended, meaning the first-instance judgment would once again apply, including the five-year ban from holding public office,” the source said.

“The magistrates have cornered her politically because she can no longer portray herself as a martyr – they have allowed her to remain eligible to run. At the same time, they made clear that they considered the offences serious, as reflected in the severity of the sentence, including one year to be served under electronic monitoring.”

Le Pen’s lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut said they were “partially satisfied” with the ruling. He said the court had softened its position on the length of the ban from holding public office and welcomed its reference to “the freedom of voters”.

What next?

Anticipating the possibility that her appeal would be rejected, Le Pen had already begun preparing RN president Jordan Bardella as her successor.

Bardella has consistently ranked among the leading candidates in opinion polls and was recently described by Le Pen as her necessary replacement, should she be convicted again by the appeals court.

Senior National Rally officials are meeting on Tuesday afternoon at the party’s headquarters in western Paris to decide their next move, including Bardella. Le Pen will join them.

Le Pen is also scheduled to appear on French TV TF1’s evening news bulletin, where she is expected to clarify whether she or Bardella will represent the party in the 2027 presidential race.

(bw, ow, vc)