Marine Le Pen sentenced on appeal to 15 months' ineligibility, 2027 candidacy possible
Paris Court of Appeal has reduced Marine Le Pen's sentence, allowing her to run in the 2027 presidential election. The RN faces a two million euro fine.
Reduced sentence on appeal for Marine Le Pen in parliamentary assistants case
Paris Court of Appeal delivered its verdict on Tuesday 7 July in the case concerning parliamentary assistants of the National Front, according to fr.news.yahoo.com. Marine Le Pen was found guilty of misappropriation of public funds, but her sentence was significantly reduced compared to the first-instance judgment.
The president of the court, Michèle Agi, described the facts as "particularly serious" given the sums misappropriated and the duration of the misappropriation. Le Pen is sentenced to three years' imprisonment, of which one year is firm and may be served under house arrest via electronic monitoring, as well as 45 months' ineligibility of which 30 are suspended.
The sentence actually to be served amounts to 15 months' ineligibility, thus opening the way to a candidacy for the spring 2027 presidential election. Michèle Agi specified that "the execution of this sentence since 31 March 2025 has already remedied the breach of probity", justifying the decision by the need to preserve the "freedom of voters' choice".
In the first instance, Marine Le Pen had received five years' ineligibility with provisional execution, an immediate measure that excluded her de facto from the race for the Élysée. The head of the RN had moreover conditioned her candidacy on the absence of a conviction involving the wearing of an electronic monitoring bracelet — a condition now not met, but which does not appear to bar her way according to initial reactions.
Le Pen must pay a fine of 100,000 euros. Her guilt was established on two counts: misappropriation of European public funds in her capacity as MEP, and complicity in misappropriation of public funds as party president.
The National Rally was for its part sentenced to two million euros in fines, of which one million is suspended. Louis Aliot, mayor of Perpignan and RN figure, was sentenced to one year's imprisonment and two years' ineligibility, all suspended, allowing him to retain his position at the head of the city where he was re-elected in March.
Marine Le Pen was due to speak on Tuesday evening on the 8pm news bulletin of TF1 facing Gilles Bouleau.
Source: France 24 - France