French Politics Marine Le Pen back in the presidential race

Research evidence excerpt

French Politics Marine Le Pen back in the presidential race

7 July 2026

French Politics Economics

Marine Le Pen back in the presidential race France

◆ Le Pen was cleared to run in the 2027 presidential race, but she was also Chantana Sam

sentenced to serve one year under house arrest with an electronic bracelet Economist,Switzerland France and

HSBC Continental Europe

◆ After the Court ruling, she stated that she will appeal the decision and that she chantana.sam@hsbc.fr +33 1 40 70 77 95

will be candidate for the next presidential election

◆ Latest opinion polls suggest that Le Pen would lead early polling, but with a

lower margin than Jordan Bardella

Facts

On 7 July, the Paris Court of Appeal delivered a mixed ruling in the case involving Marine Le Pen over the

embezzlement of European Parliament funds. On the one hand, the five-year ban on running for public

office was reduced to an effective period of 15 months, starting in March 2025 (the date of the initial

ruling). This means that, technically, Le Pen is cleared to participate in the 2027 presidential election (the

first round will be held on 18 April, and the runoff will be held on 2 May). On the other hand, Le Pen was

also found guilty and sentenced to serve three years in prison, two of which were suspended. The one

year will be served under house arrest with an electronic bracelet. Her decision is significant because she

had previously said that she would not run for president if she had to wear an electronic bracelet.

In the evening of 7 July, Le Pen announced in a TV interview to TF1 that she had decided to appeal the

decision before France’s top court (Cour de cassation). She added that she expected the appeal to