Far-right politician Marine Le Pen has begun a weeks-long appeal to overturn her conviction for embezzling millions from the European Parliament, with a view to running for President in 2027.
The leader of France’s populist National Rally (RN) party was handed a four-year prison sentence after it was ruled that she and 24 other party officials diverted more than €3m (£2.5m) of European parliament funds for staff to pay members of the party instead. She was prevented from standing for public office for five years.
RN are the largest opposition party in France and could pose a threat to President Emmanuel Macron in the forthcoming election next year, with Le Pen enjoying widespread support across the country for her right-wing policies and anti-immigration views.
Who is Marine Le Pen?
Le Pen, 56, is the daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, who founded the RN (originally called the National Front). She took over the leadership from her father in 2011 and has since taken the group from a marginalised voice in French politics to one of its biggest parties.
She dismissed her father after he was convicted for Holocaust denial for downplaying the genocide as a “detail of history”. Le Pen renamed the party in an effort to distance herself from its hardline reputation.
But the politician has herself been accused of being racist and Islamophobic, having proposed bans on hijab in public spaces. In 2015, she went on trial on hate speech charges after she compared Muslims praying in the streets to the Nazi occupation. Le Pen was later acquitted.
Le Pen’s has also suggested extreme policies on immigration, including a pledge to hold a referendum proposing strict criteria for entering French territory and for acquiring French nationality.
Before her conviction she was a frontrunner in polls for the 2027 presidential election.
What is the case against her?
Prosecutors alleged that Le Pen and fellow party members treated the European Parliament as a “cash cow”, using funds allocated for MEP staffers to instead fund the RN’s political work.
Judges cited an email in which one MEP told the party treasurer that the approach amounted to creating “fake jobs” for which there would be legal repercussions.
“I understand Marine’s reasons, but we’re going to get hammered, because it’s certain that our use of the funds will be scrutinised very closely with such a large group,” he wrote.
The treasurer is said to have replied: “I do believe that Marine knows all of this”.
RN employees such as Le Pen’s longtime bodyguard were employed as parliamentary assistants despite doing unrelated work, according to the ruling, using €717,000 of European Parliament money between 2005 and 2012.
Le Pen has denied any wrongdoing and has lashed out at the ruling as a “political decision” and a “violation of the rule of law”, adding that “millions” across the country would be unhappy about it. She has suggested that the scheme amounted to an administrative difference rather than criminal conduct.
What are the potential outcomes of the appeal?
Of the 24 convictions, 12 staff including Le Pen have appealed the outcome. Despite a national backlog of cases, the court accelerated the politician’s case in order to “keep the deliberations and judicial debate as far away as possible from the key election date”. It is aiming to deliver its ruling in summer 2026, according to France 24.
An appeal in France requires a complete rehearing of the case, including all evidence, and allows for the submission of new documents and witnesses.
If the court finds in her favour, the “provisional execution” to ban her from public office with immediate effect regardless of an appeal, will be overturned. This means she will be able to run against Macron in next year’s election.
However, in the event that she loses, the ban will stand and the RN will be forced to replace her. But the party says it already has its “Plan B” in place: Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 30-year-old protégé. Despite having a popular following on TikTok, he has been accused of undermining the party’s chances due to his inexperience.
“We have a plan B. There is nothing to worry about” said Jean-Lin Lacapelle, a senior RN figure and MEP. “If Marine cannot run then she will be Jordan’s biggest supporter. They will win together.”
What has Le Pen said about the trial?
Despite high-drama at the trial, during which Le Pen stormed out of the courtroom at the announcement of the ruling, she has since demonstrated a more tempered approach.
“I will not drag things out because I am committed to seeing our ideas come to power,” she told RTL radio in November. “Obviously it will be very difficult, but I believe it’s a decision that must be made — for me at least — and one that is required in the interest of the country.”
She has said: “Jordan has the qualities to hold any job that requires determination, ideals, and a deep love for the country.”
Le Pen said that the decision would be taken sooner rather than later in order for the party to begin its election preparations in earnest.
