Overview
- In the Paris appeal, prosecutors asked judges to confirm Marine Le Pen’s five-year ineligibility and recommended a four-year sentence with one year to be served in custody.
- They stopped short of demanding the election ban take effect immediately, a stance that could allow Le Pen to seek relief from the Cour de Cassation before the 2027 vote.
- Le Pen is appealing a 2025 conviction that found a scheme used European Parliament funds to pay National Rally staff in France from 2004 to 2016, which she denies.
- The lower court had imposed four years in jail with two suspended, a €100,000 fine, and a five-year bar from office, and the party and multiple former MEPs and aides were also found guilty.
- The retrial is set to conclude in February with a ruling expected this summer, and an upheld ruling would likely block Le Pen from running in 2027.