Overview
- The Paris Court of Appeal upheld Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction but reduced her ban from holding office from five years to 15 months and handed a one‑year non‑custodial sentence that includes expected electronic monitoring.
- Le Pen has declared she will run for president in April 2027 and has lodged an appeal to the Court of Cassation to challenge aspects of the appeals‑court ruling.
- A new Elabe poll of 1,503 adults for BFM TV and La Tribune Dimanche shows Le Pen’s first‑round support rising to about 34–35.5 percent, improving her position against main rivals in current matchups.
- Practical hurdles remain: the electronic‑tag order could limit her movement while she must still secure 500 elected endorsements and face possible further judicial changes that could alter her eligibility.
- The conviction stems from a long‑running alleged ‘fake jobs’ scheme involving European Parliament funds, an inquiry that the EPPO has expanded and that continues to shape legal and political debate inside the National Rally.