Overview
- The Paris Court of Appeal is due to deliver its verdict on Tuesday, July 7, on whether Le Pen’s 2025 conviction and ban from public office will stand and block her from the April 2027 presidential ballot.
- Judges can overturn the conviction, uphold it, or soften the penalty so that a reduced ban would expire before the election; the court could also impose house arrest or electronic monitoring that would hinder a national campaign.
- If the appeals court upholds a multi‑year ban, party leaders say Jordan Bardella would become the RN’s candidate and Le Pen has pledged public support for a Bardella bid.
- Polls show the National Rally leading first‑round voting and in some surveys Bardella slightly ahead of Le Pen, though legal limits on campaigning or the need for 500 elected endorsements could complicate any late change of candidate.
- The case springs from a long‑running fake‑jobs scheme that prosecutors say diverted European Parliament funds to party staff between 2004 and 2016, and recent EPPO searches have widened scrutiny of contracts tied to the RN.