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French court upholds Le Pen's fraud conviction but clears way for 2027 presidential bid

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the courtroom for the verdict of her appeals trial in Paris, 7 July, 2026
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the courtroom for the verdict of her appeals trial in Paris, 7 July, 2026 Copyright  AP Photo
Copyright AP Photo
By Gavin Blackburn
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During the appeal trial, Le Pen denied that the National Rally had a system to embezzle European Parliament funds and said the party acted in "good faith."

A Paris appeals court handed France's far-right chief Marine Le Pen one year of house arrest over a fake jobs scam in the European parliament on Tuesday, casting doubt on whether she will run for president next April.

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The appeals court handed the three-time presidential candidate a 45-month ban from office, 30 months of which were suspended.

The other 15 months were expected to be backdated from the initial verdict by a lower court in March last year and therefore to have expired, meaning she could in theory be a candidate.

But the court also gave her a three-year detention, two of which were suspended, meaning she must serve one year under house arrest wearing an electronic ankle tag.

The three-time presidential candidate has said she would not compete to replace centrist President Emmanuel Macron if she was under house arrest and could not campaign properly.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the courtroom for the verdict of her appeals trial in Paris, 7 July, 2026
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen arrives at the courtroom for the verdict of her appeals trial in Paris, 7 July, 2026 AP Photo

"When you're a presidential candidate, you need to be completely free to move around," she said last week in a televised interview.

"I can't depend on a magistrate to allow me to go to a rally."

Le Pen is expected to outline her intentions in an evening television interview later on Tuesday.

'Witch hunt'

The first trial last year found Le Pen, along with 24 former European lawmakers, assistants and accountants, as well as the anti-immigration party itself, guilty of operating a system from 2004-2016 to use European Parliament funds to employ RN staff in France.

The court sentenced Le Pen to a five-year ban from public office and four years in prison, with two suspended.

Le Pen claimed her party was the victim of a "witch hunt" and some supporters sent the judges death threats. Le Pen, the party and 10 others appealed.

People wave French flags during a rally attended by far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella and far-right leader Marine Le Pen in Lievin, 4 July, 2026
People wave French flags during a rally attended by far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella and far-right leader Marine Le Pen in Lievin, 4 July, 2026 AP Photo

During the appeal trial, she denied that the RN had a system to embezzle European Parliament funds and has said her party acted in "complete good faith."

But prosecutors alleged she "professionalised" a way to divert EU funds first introduced haphazardly by her late father, party co-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, after she took over its leadership from him in 2011.

Additional sources • AP, AFP

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