Marine Le Pen Challenges EU Conviction in High-Stakes Appeal

Tue Jan 13 2026 23:04:47 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Marine Le Pen's appeal against her conviction for misusing EU funds could determine her political future as she seeks a fourth presidential bid in 2027.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right National Rally party, is appealing a conviction for embezzling EU funds, arguing she acted within legal bounds. The appeal could affect her eligibility for the 2027 presidential election. The court's decision is expected later in the year, raising significant implications for her political career.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has told a Paris court she hopes will overturn her conviction for embezzling EU funds that she had no sense of having committed an offence.

Le Pen, 57, was found guilty last year for hiring assistants who worked on her National Rally party's affairs rather than for the European Parliament (EP) that paid them.

The EP did not play its role of raising the alarm as it should have, she told judges at the start of an appeal trial against a conviction banning her from running for public office for five years.

If the ban is upheld, she will not be able to stand in the 2027 presidential election.

The case at the Paris Court of Appeal will last until 12 February but a ruling is not expected before the summer.

Last year's case centred on charges that Le Pen, along with more than 20 other senior party figures, used European Parliament funding to pay for National Rally staff in France.

Le Pen was given a four-year prison sentence – with two years suspended and the remaining two to be served with an electronic tag rather than in custody. She was handed a €100,000 (£82,635) fine and banned from seeking public office with immediate effect.

More than 20 RN figures were also found guilty in last year's trial and the party was ordered to pay a €2m fine, with half the amount suspended.

Eleven of Le Pen's colleagues are taking part in the Paris appeal, but 12 have decided not to challenge the original verdicts, including her sister Yann Le Pen who was given a one-year suspended prison term.

Judge Agi started the hearing by reading the charges and last year's verdict. Le Pen then returned to her seat, in the company of other co-defendants and her lawyers.

Under the French legal system, an appeals court reviews the decision of the lower, first-instance court in its entirety - including facts as well as points of law.

Le Pen will be hoping the Paris appeals court overturns last year's verdict and clears her name and path to run for the highest office in France for the fourth time.

A second possible outcome would be for the appeals panel to affirm the guilty verdict but remove the immediate effect clause, allowing her to run even while appealing. A third could see the ban curtailed just enough for her to register before the March 2027 deadline.

The fifth - which would rule Le Pen out of the race - would be for the original conviction to be upheld with a stricter sentence. The presidential election is expected in April 2027, making the timing of the court's decision crucial.