France: appeals court to decide Marine Le Pen's political future
Marine Le Pen is awaiting the appeals court's decision in the misuse of EU funds case, which will determine whether she can run in the 2027 presidential election.
France: appeals court to decide Marine Le Pen's political future
The leader of France's far-right Marine Le Pen is awaiting today's decision from the appeals court, which will determine whether she can seek the presidency for a fourth time in the country's 2027 elections.
In March 2025, the lower court sentenced her to four years in prison — two of which are suspended — a fine of 100,000 euros and a five-year ban from holding public office. This sentence will only be carried out if it is upheld on appeal.
The lower court found her guilty of "misappropriation of public funds" in the case involving European parliamentary assistants of the National Front (FN, renamed RN – National Rally in 2018). According to the conviction, between 2004 and 2016, the party misappropriated more than 4.4 million euros from European Parliament resources. These funds were intended for parliamentary assistants but were directed towards financing the party or its leaders.
Among the people listed as assistants were her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, her butler and her bodyguard. An electronic message from the MEP and party treasurer Valérian de Saint-Just revealed the practice: "What Marine is asking us to do amounts to signing for fictitious positions... And the MP is the one who bears criminal responsibility for his money."
On appeal, Le Pen argued that the political activity of the deputy and her assistant was "inseparable from the European mandate". Later, she acknowledged there may have been a problem: "If a crime has been committed — and everyone seems to say a crime has been committed — I am ready to hear it. But I want the court to know that, for us, we did not feel that we had committed any wrongdoing."
The prosecution is asking that the five-year ban from holding public office be maintained and that the four-year prison sentence be served for one year with an electronic monitoring bracelet, with the other three years suspended.
The appeals court can acquit Le Pen, reduce the length of the ineligibility ban or uphold the lower court's decision. She herself has stated that she would not lodge a further appeal with the highest cassation court if she is convicted again, as this would harm her party further. She has also stated that she would not be a candidate if she could not run a free election campaign.
A conviction would open the way for the new star of France's far-right, Jordan Bardella, but not without doubts and obstacles. Political opponents of the National Rally believe that Bardella's relative lack of experience and the absence of a strong brand would expose him to criticism.
Source: In.gr