Key facts
- A Paris appeal court will rule Tuesday on Marine Le Pen's embezzlement conviction.
- The conviction relates to the alleged misuse of over €4 million in European Parliament funds.
- A previous ruling imposed a five-year ban from public office on Le Pen.
- If banned, Le Pen's protege Jordan Bardella is positioned to become the National Rally's candidate.
A Paris appeal court is scheduled to rule on Tuesday regarding Marine Le Pen's embezzlement conviction, a decision that could determine her eligibility to run in the 2027 French presidential election. Le Pen, 57, has been a dominant figure in France's nationalist right for 15 years, having previously reached the presidential run-off twice against Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and 2022.
If the court bars her from running, Le Pen has indicated she would support her protege Jordan Bardella, who is seen by some observers as a potential successor. Le Pen's political career began in childhood, influenced by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Front. She took over leadership of the party in 2011 and rebranded it as the National Rally, gradually removing traces of her father's overt racism and antisemitism.
The conviction stems from a scheme involving the alleged misuse of approximately €1.4 million (£1.2 million) of European Parliament funds to pay party assistants. Le Pen was found to have played a central role in this scheme. Her party has also faced financial scrutiny, having previously borrowed from a Russian-Czech bank linked to the Kremlin, and Le Pen herself has expressed past admiration for Vladimir Putin.
Despite these challenges, Le Pen has worked to 'detoxify' the party's image and has been acquitted of inciting racial hatred in the past. Her expulsion of her father from the party in 2015 marked a significant family and political break. While a life outside politics is not inconceivable for Le Pen, who holds a diploma in cat breeding, her deep immersion in politics since childhood makes a backseat role seem unlikely.