French far-right leader Marine Le Pen announced her candidacy for the 2027 presidential race shortly after being mandated to wear an electronic tag due to her involvement in an embezzlement case. Le Pen expressed her inability to campaign while wearing the tag but affirmed her commitment to proving her innocence through legal means.
A Paris court determined that Le Pen’s party misappropriated €2.8m (£2.4m) over an 11-year period. Despite this conviction, the 57-year-old, who has run for president three times before, declared her intention to challenge the ruling at France’s highest court, which would suspend the requirement for her to wear the electronic tag for a year.
Following the appeals court decision, Le Pen’s disqualification from seeking public office for five years, imposed by a previous court ruling, was reduced. However, she was still ordered to wear the electronic tag. Despite initial concerns about campaigning under such circumstances, Le Pen expressed optimism that she would not be under monitoring and emphasized her confidence in a favorable outcome from the Cour de Cassation appeal process.
The Court of Cassation has indicated that a decision could be reached before the upcoming presidential election in April. The appeals court found Le Pen accountable for the misallocation of European Parliament funds by her party to pay parliamentary assistants. While maintaining her innocence, Le Pen acknowledged errors within the party but denied any criminal intent.
All 11 accused, including Le Pen and other party members, were upheld guilty by the appeals court, with the party itself also being convicted. Nevertheless, the court reduced the penalties imposed by a lower court, shortening the ban on seeking public office and revising Le Pen’s prison sentence.
The ban was reduced to 45 months, with a significant portion suspended, effectively eliminating the obstacle for Le Pen, who had already served part of the ban. Similarly, her prison sentence was adjusted to three years, with two years of suspension.