France: Marine Le Pen will be a candidate in the 2027 presidential election

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen announced her candidacy for the 2027 presidential election on Tuesday, just hours after her appeal conviction to a one-year prison sentence under electronic monitoring for misappropriation of European funds.

Claiming to be "innocent", she announced that she would appeal to the Court of Cassation, a recourse before the highest French court which "suspends the effects of the ruling" of the Paris Court of Appeal on Tuesday, during an interview on the TF1 channel.

"I will therefore campaign without an electronic bracelet," added the poll favorite, who will thus be leading her fourth presidential campaign.

She reached the second round in the last two elections in 2017 and 2022, losing each time to Emmanuel Macron who cannot run for a third term.

"There is no longer a scenario in which I could not appear," she added, assuring that she "will not change her mind" despite the risk of seeing her sentence confirmed within a few months, because she intends to use "the legal avenues" available to her "to be able to defend (her) innocence."

She added that she would form "a winning ticket" with Jordan Bardella, the president of the National Rally, who was considered the far-right party's "plan B" should Ms. Le Pen not run. The thirty-something will be her Prime Minister if she wins next year.

Marine Le Pen saw her initial sentence, handed down on March 31, 2025, reduced on appeal Tuesday afternoon to a 45-month ban from holding public office, including 15 months of mandatory imprisonment which she has already served. However, her three-year prison sentence, one year of which was to be served under house arrest with an electronic tag, presented her with a dilemma, as she had made her participation in the presidential election contingent on not being sentenced to wear an electronic tag.

An obstacle that she believes has been removed by her appeal to the Court of Cassation.

"I was happy that the French were given back their freedom to vote and that the Court restored my eligibility," she added.

AFP