A French appeals court has upheld the embezzlement conviction of Marine Le Pen, a prominent conservative and former presidential candidate, though it has reduced her sentence. While she is now permitted to run for the presidency in 2027, she will be required to wear an ankle monitor for a year.
The Paris Criminal Court initially convicted Le Pen in 2025. She, along with other members of the National Rally party, was accused of misusing millions of euros in European Union funds by channeling the money to aides working on French domestic political activities. Le Pen has consistently denied any criminal conduct.
Originally, Le Pen’s sentence included five years of prison time, with two years suspended and three years of house arrest. According to the French judicial system, the suspended sentence served as a warning, while the house arrest was expected to be enforced. The initial ruling also imposed a five-year ban prohibiting her from contesting in future elections, effectively disqualifying her from the 2027 presidential race.
However, on Tuesday, the appeals court altered her sentence to three years in total, with two years suspended. Le Pen is now required to serve the remaining one year under house arrest, as detailed in a statement revealed by News Media.
Marine Le Pen pictured as she arrives for the verdict of her appeal trial involving claims of embezzling European public funds, related to alleged fake jobs in the European Parliament, at the Paris Court of Appeal on July 7, 2026. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images)
The ruling also shortened her ban from running for office to 45 months, 30 of which are considered to be suspended. Given that the court considered her suspension active starting from initial sentencing in March 2025, the ruling means Le Pen is eligible to run for office effective immediately.
However, if she were to decide on a presidential run, she would have to do so while serving the house arrest sentence, a prospect she has already cast doubt on.
“If I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible,” she told French media Wednesday.
Le Pen, along with 11 other associates, were found guilty of a litany of crimes related to the misuse of public funds. Le Pen herself was found guilty on charges of misappropriating public funds and complicity in the misappropriation of public funds.
“The court found that an organization had been set up to allow the European Parliament to cover the remuneration of parliamentary assistants for National Front (which became Rassemblement National) MEPs, whereas their activities had no connection with the mandate of their MEP and they were actually working for the national political party,” a press release from the Paris Court of Appeals read.
French President Emmanuel Macron holds a press conference on July 10, 2025, in London, England. (Leon Neal)
The release claimed the defendants misappropriated €2.8 million, which the court ordered them to pay back in restitution.
Le Pen, for her part, admitted that some staff paid as EU staffers were relegated to domestic French work, but she claimed it was simply a mistake and not, as alleged, part of a scheme to divert E.U. funds to her National Rally party.
National Rally President Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen hug as they attend a party event in Lievin, northern France on July 4, 2026. (Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP via Getty Images)
Le Pen, according to The Associated Press, immediately went from the courthouse to National Rally headquarters to strategize the party’s future plans. She is expected to address the country in a news conference or interview Tuesday night.
Her legal team at the courthouse said, “We are considering the decision as a whole. We will issue a further statement. We are partially satisfied,” according to Reuters.
News Media contacted representatives for National Rally and the Paris appeals court for further comment.