France appeals court opens door for Le Pen presidential run, with ankle tag

A French appeals court has altered the legal landscape for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, potentially allowing her to contest the 2027 presidential election. The court found Le Pen guilty of misusing public funds but significantly reduced the ban on her holding public office.

Previously, a lower court had sentenced Le Pen to a five-year ban from public office and two years in prison concerning a fake jobs scheme at the European Parliament. The appeals court, however, imposed a 45-month ban, with 30 months suspended. Crucially, the ruling requires her to wear an electronic monitoring tag as part of her sentence, which will be served at home.

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She must now decide whether campaigning in 2027 with a monitoring bracelet as part of her sentence to be served at home is possible.

Le Pen, who has run for president three times, now faces a critical decision. She must determine if campaigning for the 2027 election while wearing a monitoring bracelet is feasible. Should the sentence prevent her from running, she has indicated that Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old leader of their National Rally party, would take the reins.

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Le Pen has said that if the sentence prevented her from campaigning, she would hand the reins over to her 30-year-old lieutenant, Jordan Bardella, leader of their National Rally (RN) party.