Key facts
- A Paris appeals court upheld Marine Le Pen's conviction for embezzlement.
- Le Pen's ban from public office was reduced to 45 months, with two-thirds suspended.
- She received a one-year sentence to be served under house arrest with an electronic monitor.
- The court fined Le Pen 100,000 euros ($114,000).
- The sentence is backdated and considered served, potentially allowing her to run in the 2027 presidential election.
A Paris appeals court has upheld the embezzlement conviction of far-right leader Marine Le Pen, while reducing her ban from public office to 45 months, with two-thirds of the sentence suspended. Le Pen must also wear an electronic monitor for one year under house arrest, a measure common in France to alleviate prison overcrowding. The court imposed a fine of 100,000 euros ($114,000).
The sentence, including the electronic monitoring, is backdated and considered served, potentially allowing Le Pen to run in the 2027 French presidential election. However, she stated that she would not run if the electronic monitor prevented her from campaigning freely, as she would be dependent on a judge's authorization to attend campaign events.
A specialized judge will determine the specifics of Le Pen's electronic monitoring in the coming weeks or months, including the residence and authorized hours outside the home. The law allows for sentence reductions, potentially reducing the one-year monitoring period. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy previously served a sentence with an electronic monitor after a corruption conviction.