Paris Court of Appeal: Marine Le Pen sentenced to 3 years' detention and reduced ineligibility
Parisian judges have lessened the conviction of the RN leader, who could now run for the Élysée in 2027 but with an electronic monitoring bracelet.
Paris Court of Appeal: Marine Le Pen sentenced to 3 years' detention and reduced ineligibility
On 7 July 2026, magistrates of the Paris Court of Appeal delivered a new ruling against Marine Le Pen in the case concerning parliamentary assistants at the European Parliament. The ineligibility sentence was reduced to 45 months, of which 30 are suspended, which theoretically leaves the way open for her to participate in the 2027 presidential election. In the initial trial, she had been hit with a five-year ban on holding office with immediate effect, rendering her ineligible.
The judge presiding over the hearing, Michèle Agi, justified this decision by stating that the sentence served since spring 2025 had already made it possible to remedy the moral harm linked to the breach of integrity. The judges also stressed the need to preserve the right to stand as a candidate and the right of citizens to freely choose their representatives, a cornerstone of democratic life.
On the punitive side, the former presidential candidate was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, two of which are suspended. The effective portion, namely twelve months, will be subject to an arrangement in the form of electronic monitoring. This technical constraint means that a hypothetical election campaign would take place with this device on her wrist. Previously, the elected official had laid down as an absolute condition for her candidacy the absence of any such obligation.
Her counsel, Maître Rodolphe Bosselut, expressed mixed satisfaction with the rulings, calling it a "good start" while suggesting that appeals were being considered. The defendant left the courthouse without making any statement to journalists, heading directly to the offices of her political party in the capital. She was expected that evening on the TF1 20 o'clock news programme to publicly respond.
Source: Radio France
Source: Radio France - Justice