Overview
- A Paris appeals court on July 7 upheld Le Pen’s conviction for misusing European Parliament funds but shortened the disqualification period and handed a custodial sentence that includes an electronic monitoring requirement.
- Le Pen promptly declared her 2027 presidential bid and began campaigning, and post-ruling polls from Elabe and Ifop put her first-round support around 34–36 percent with favorable head‑to‑head matchups against main rivals.
- Her team has filed an appeal to the Cour de Cassation, France’s highest court that reviews legal interpretation rather than facts, a process that could delay or alter enforcement of the ankle‑monitor order.
- Jordan Bardella has publicly pledged loyalty after Le Pen reclaimed the candidacy, a move that sidelines his own leadership bid and forces the National Rally to reconcile policy differences between the two leaders.
- Rivals such as Édouard Philippe are shifting strategy to attack Le Pen’s economic platform as incoherent, a tactic aimed at peeling conservative voters away from the National Rally and reshaping the center‑right contest.