The French nationally oriented leader will be eligible to stand in the next presidential election after an appeals court reduced the length of her ban on holding public office, despite upholding her conviction for misusing EU funds.
The Paris Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of Marine Le Pen for embezzling European Parliament funds but dramatically reduced the penalty that had threatened to derail her political career, leaving her free to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The court confirmed the original guilty verdict handed down last spring, which found that Le Pen had masterminded a system to pay party staff in France using money earmarked for European parliamentary assistants. However, the judges substantially softened the sentence.
Le Pen was given a three-year prison term, two years of which are suspended, with the remaining year to be served under electronic surveillance rather than behind bars. The court also imposed a €100,000 fine.
Crucially, the five-year ban on standing for public office that had been imposed by the lower court was reduced to 45 months, of which 30 months are suspended. The recalculation means the period of ineligibility no longer blocks her from running for president in 2027, though she will be required to wear an electronic tag for one year.
The ruling is a significant boost for the National Rally leader, who had denounced the original sentence as a politically motivated attempt to prevent her from seeking the presidency. Under the initial verdict, which included an immediate five-year ban on running for office even pending appeal, her candidacy had appeared in serious jeopardy.
