A high-stakes appeal by French far-right politician Marine Le Pen began Tuesday against a decision that banned her from running for public office for five years.
Le Pen, 57, was found guilty last year of embezzlement of European funds and if the ban is maintained, she will not be able to run in the 2027 presidential election. She assures that she has not committed “the slightest irregularity”.
Before the call, the president of his National Rally party, Jordan Bardella, said excluding him from the elections would be “deeply worrying for democracy.”
Bardella said he would not run for president next year but would instead seek the lower-ranking post of prime minister.
The trial before the Paris Court of Appeal will last until February 12 but a judgment is not expected until the summer, well before next year’s presidential election.
Last year’s case centered on accusations that Le Pen, along with more than 20 other senior party officials, hired aides who worked on business for her RN party rather than for the European Parliament which paid them.
Judge Bénédicte de Perthuis said Le Pen was at the “heart of the system” which saw the misappropriation of €2.9m (£2.5m) of EU funds.
Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison – with two years suspended and the other two to be served with a microchip rather than in custody. She was fined €100,000 (£82,635) and banned from running for public office “with immediate effect”.
If she loses her appeal, she faces an even longer prison sentence.
More than 20 RN figures were also found guilty during last year’s trial and the party was fined 2 million euros, half of which was suspended.
Eleven of Le Pen’s colleagues are participating in the Paris appeal, but twelve have decided not to contest the initial verdicts, including her sister Yann Le Pen who was given a one-year suspended prison sentence.
Speaking to journalists on the eve of the appeal trial in the presence of Le Pen, Bardella said the RN leader would prove her innocence.
“It would be deeply worrying for democracy if justice deprived the French of a presidential candidate, already qualified twice for the second round and now considered the undisputed favorite of the election,” he declared.
Le Pen hopes the appeals court will overturn the lower court’s verdict and allow her to run for France’s highest office for a fourth time.
A second possible outcome would be for the appeal committee to uphold the guilty verdict but remove the “immediate effect” clause. This would allow her to stand even if she decides to appeal to the highest court in the country – the Court of Cassation – to overturn the guilty verdict.
A third outcome could see appeals judges reduce the five-year ban enough to allow Le Pen to register before the March 2027 deadline.
And a fourth solution would be to leave the lower court decisions intact. This would make her candidacy virtually impossible, although she would still have to take the case to the Court of Cassation.
With the presidential election expected around April 2027, much will depend on the substance – as well as the timing – of the rulings.
