France's Le Pen will run for president despite embezzlement conviction

PARIS (CN) — The extreme-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen announced late Tuesday she will be running in France’s 2027 presidential election, mere hours after the Court of Appeal of Paris loosened her prior five-year ban on holding public office.

Despite the court’s decision, the announcement came as a shock; the ruling upheld a roughly $114,000 fine for embezzlement, and adjusted her ineligibility to run for office to 45 months, 30 of which would be suspended. But the real caveat was a three-year prison term, with two suspended and one to be served with an electronic monitoring bracelet. This would coincide with the presidential campaign period, and she had previously said that she would not run under such conditions.

Jordan Bardella, her 30-year-old protégée, has widely been expected to take her place. He has been credited with normalizing the National Rally, which has long been seen in France as taboo because of its history of promoting antisemitic and xenophobic rhetoric. Bardella’s 2.3 million TikTok followers also speak to his appeal to a younger generation.

But on Tuesday night, it became clear Le Pen had another trick up her sleeve, and did not intend on passing along the torch just yet.

Speaking on the French TV channel TF1, she said she would appeal the ruling to the Cour de Cassation, France’s highest court, which would suspend her sentence until they render a decision. It’s unclear how long this would take, but she seems to be gambling that it will be long enough to run a campaign.

“My mind was made up very quickly since I had indicated, as you know, that I would not campaign wearing an ankle monitor,” Le Pen said on Tuesday evening. “But since I have the option to file an appeal with the Court of Cassation, which was not necessarily the case in the other scenarios, and since the appeal suspends the effects of the ruling, I will therefore campaign without an ankle monitor.”

In March 2025, Le Pen and 23 members of her National Rally party, known as the RN, were found guilty of embezzlement in a scheme investigators said rerouted $24,500 monthly paychecks meant for parliamentary assistants in Brussels to party lawmakers. The court estimated the amount totaled almost $5 million between 2004 and 2016.

Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison — two suspended and two to be served at home with an electronic bracelet — and the roughly $114,000 fine. But the most shocking element was a five-year ban on running for public office effective immediately, rendering her ineligible to run in the 2027 presidential elections.

Ever since March 2025, it was unclear whether she or Bardella would lead the National Rally in a campaign, and the topic has dominated the French political discourse.

Now, it seems Le Pen is seeking to leverage both of their strengths; she’s already integrating Bardella’s influence into her campaign, and has said that he would become prime minister should she be elected in May 2027. On X, immediately after her appearance on TF1, she repeatedly insisted that the two will be “launching this presidential campaign together” and called for the French to support “us,” rather than “me.”

But a lot of questions remain.

At the end her 20-minute interview, TF1 presenter Gilles Bouleau asked what would happen if the Court of Cassation — knowing that in the first and second rulings “the judges didn’t side with [her]” — ultimately finds her guilty.

“Mr. Bouleau, we will see,” Le Pen responded with a smile.

“No, you can’t say ‘we’ll see,’” Bouleau pressed. “Can the world’s seventh largest power be presided over by a woman who would have this sword of Damocles hanging over her?”

Le Pen said the French people will be the judge of that.

Follow @lilyradz