Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. TOTOTO London: A French court has cleared the way for right-wing leader Marine Le Pen to run for president in next year’s election, but she would have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet to serve a
London: A French court has cleared the way for right-wing leader Marine Le Pen to run for president in next year’s election, but she would have to wear an electronic ankle bracelet to serve a sentence for embezzlement of public funds.
The Paris Court of Appeal upheld a conviction against the leader of the National Rally for embezzlement of European Union funds, but reduced the sentence against her, meaning she would not have to wear the ankle device for the time previously provided.
The ruling complicates the decision within the party about how to fight for the presidency when it has gained ground in opinion polls with its calls for a radical change in the country’s direction to combat migration.
With French President Emmanuel Macron unable to participate in the upcoming election due to term limits, the presidential race is shaping up to be a defining vote on the direction of the country when the National Assembly is divided and voted to impeach the prime minister last year.
Le Pen’s presidential hopes have been in limbo since March 2025, when she received a five-year electoral ban for embezzling more than €4 million ($6.6 million) from the European Parliament. She denied guilt and appealed.
The five-year ban on running for elected office took effect immediately. Le Pen was also fined 100,000 euros and sentenced to four years in prison, two of which were suspended and two of which were to be served under house arrest.
Modifying that sentence, the Paris Court of Appeal sentenced Le Pen to three years in prison, two of them suspended and one year wearing an electronic tag. He confirmed the fine of 100,000 euros.
This would mean that the leader of the National Rally would have to wear the anklet during the electoral campaign, an option that she previously rejected. He is due to speak about his future on Tuesday night in France (early Wednesday, AEST).
Le Pen has spent more than a decade transforming the movement founded by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, from a fringe nationalist party to what many see as a government in waiting, and a decision to maintain the ban would be bitter for her personally.
Le Pen was initially found guilty of being at the center of a scheme to misappropriate EU funds intended to finance parliamentary assistants, using the money to pay RN employees.
With Reuters
Get a note directly from our foreigner correspondents about what’s making headlines around the world. Subscribe to our weekly What in the World newsletter.
David Crowe is European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect through X either email.From our partners
Check back often for more exciting news!
