PARIS (AP) — Marine Le Pen, the French far-right leader, says a court order requiring her to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet would force her out of next year’s presidential race.
A Paris appeals court is scheduled to hand down its verdict on Tuesday in a case that could determine whether Le Pen is eligible to seek the French presidency.
Le Pen, who is 57 years old, is contesting a ruling from March 2025 in which a Paris court found her and fellow members of her National Rally party guilty of misappropriating European Union Parliament funds. The scheme allegedly involved hiring assistants between 2004 and 2016 who were said to be doing party work rather than fulfilling their parliamentary duties.
Should the appeals court uphold the conviction, Le Pen could face a ban from holding elected office, electronic monitoring, or both, along with other possible penalties.
Speaking in a late Wednesday interview on LCI channel, Le Pen made clear that her ability to campaign freely was the deciding factor. “If I can be a candidate, I will be a candidate, provided that I am able to campaign,” she said. “Because if I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible.”
When a reporter asked whether the electronic bracelet specifically would be the main barrier to her running, she was direct: “Well, of course. I can’t be dependent on a judge to authorize me to go hold a campaign rally … or to visit a market.”
Le Pen has consistently rejected the allegation that she was the driving force behind what prosecutors described as a scheme to divert EU funds. The original March 2025 verdict concluded that Le Pen sat at the core of “a fraudulent system” her party used to siphon roughly 2.9 million euros — approximately $3.4 million — from the European Parliament. Under that ruling, she received a five-year ban from holding public office and two years of house arrest with electronic monitoring.
France’s next presidential election is scheduled to begin with its first round on April 18, followed by a runoff on May 2.
If the appeals court rules against her, Le Pen says she intends to exhaust every legal option available. “If I cannot be a candidate, I will make use of every available avenue of appeal,” she said. One such option would be taking the case to the Court of Cassation, a body that does not re-examine the facts but instead reviews whether lower courts properly followed the law. That process could take roughly six months.
Political observers widely consider Le Pen a leading contender to replace centrist President Emmanuel Macron if she is permitted to run. If she is barred, her 30-year-old protege Jordan Bardella is expected to step in as the party’s candidate.
When asked how she and Bardella differ, Le Pen pointed to her three previous presidential campaigns as evidence of her experience, while also praising her younger colleague. “We are complementary. I believe I have a certain experience, but Jordan has an absolutely incredible dynamism; he has the strength and energy of his youth,” she said.
