“The ruling of the Court of Appeal in Paris will be a historic moment, because this is the first time that the fate of a French presidential candidate depends on a court decision,” Le Monde said on Monday, marina Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Union Party, was convicted of embezzlement, cutting the period of her ban from running for public office to 45 months, including a 30-month reprieve, that means she can run for the French presidency in 2027, but only if she wears an electronic surveillance device. Agence France-presse said the court ruling cast a shadow over her presidential campaign next April.
Marina Le Pen
According to the ruling, Le Pen was sentenced to three years in prison, including two years of probation and one year outside prison for wearing electronic surveillance equipment. Le Pen has served the 15-month suspended portion of an appeal court’s 45-month ban on running for public office, Le Monde said. As the original injunction remained in effect during her appeal, she began serving her sentence on 31 March 2025, the date of her conviction by the lower court, exactly 15 months from now.
There are concerns about whether Ms Le Pen will run for president while in prison wearing an electronic surveillance device. Before the court ruling, Ms Le Pen had said she would not run under the circumstances, arguing that it would disrupt the campaign and damage her candidacy. But she has yet to confirm what she will ultimately do.
In March last year, a French court convicted Ms Le Pen and 24 former meps, aides and accountants from her party of systematically misappropriating European Parliament funds between 2004 and 2016, ms Le Pen was found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to four years in prison, two years’ probation and a five-year ban on running for office. So her long-planned fourth run for the French presidency fell apart. She appealed, denouncing the case as a“Witch hunt”.
AFP said recent polls showed the far right leading in the first round of voting next year. Public opinion in Europe was also riveted by the ruling, with German media calling the day“Crucial” for Ms Le Pen and France. (Zhang Jiayin)