Marine Le Pen’s 2027 bid for French presidency is at stake in Paris court ruling

Marine Le Pen’s 2027 bid for French presidency is at stake in Paris court ruling 0 seconds of 1 minute, 31 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Le Pen's possible stand-in as presidential candidate is no carbon copy 01:22 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 01:31 01:31 More Videos 01:22 Le Pen's possible stand-in as presidential candidate is no carbon copy 00:43 Sons of late Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei among mourners at his funeral 01:03 Reactions from both sides as Paraguay falls to France in World Cup by the narrowest of margins 01:33 World Cup buzz has the potential to mint more soccer fans among kids — some just toddlers now 02:05 Trump mixes patriotism with partisanship as he celebrates America's 250th anniversary 01:40 UK government apologizes for the state's role in decades of forced adoptions 01:02 Defying Pope Leo XIV and risking schism, traditionalists go ahead with Latin Mass consecrations 01:48 Visitors reflect on America at 250 as they view original Declaration of Independence Close 1 of 7 | Le Pen has challenged a March 2025 ruling that found her and other members of her National Rally party guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. If convicted again, she could be sentenced to a ban on holding elected office or have to wear an electronic tag — or both — among other options. More Videos 0 seconds of 1 minute, 22 secondsVolume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? 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If she’s barred, she would be replaced by her 30-year-old protégé Jordan Bardella, the current president of the National Rally party. More Videos 0 seconds of 1 minute, 35 secondsVolume 90% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Defying Pope Leo XIV and risking schism, traditionalists go ahead with Latin Mass consecrations 01:02 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% Auto360p1080p720p540p360p270p180p 00:00 01:35 01:35 More Videos Close 3 of 7 | Marine Le Pen and other members of her National Rally party were found guilty of using money intended for parliamentary assistants to pay party staff between 2004 and 2016. The lower court sentenced Le Pen to a prison term, suspended pending appeal, and imposed a five-year ban on holding elected office, effectively preventing her from contesting the 2027 presidential election unless the ruling is overturned. She denies any wrongdoing, is appealing the verdict, and remains determined to mount a fourth presidential bid. (AP video produced by Alex Turnbull) 4 of 7 | Far-right leader Marine Le Pen walks outside the courtroom during a short break in her appeals trial in Paris, on Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File) 5 of 7 | French far-right leader Marine Le Pen delivers her speech during the French far-right party National Rally near the parliament in Paris, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File) 6 of 7 | Far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella is embraced by far-right leader Marine Le Pen at a rally in Lievin, northern France, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) 7 of 7 | Far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella speaks during a rally in Lievin, northern France, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias) By SYLVIE CORBET Updated 7:08 AM MESZ, July 7, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Paris (AP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen ’s political future is on the line Tuesday as a Paris appeals court rules on her eligibility to stand in the next presidential election. The verdict will be delivered from 1:30 p.m. and could take several hours to read. It could reshape the 2027 contest to replace President Emmanuel Macron if it forces the popular Le Pen out of the picture. The constitution prevents Macron from seeking a third consecutive term. Le Pen, 57, is appealing a March 2025 conviction that found her and other members of her National Rally party guilty of misusing European Parliament funds by paying party staff with money intended for EU parliamentary assistants between 2004 and 2016. The lower court sentenced her to prison time, suspended pending appeal, and imposed a five-year ban on holding elected office. Le Pen has denied any wrongdoing and still hopes to mount a fourth bid for the presidency. But a verdict that upholds a lengthy ban could make that impossible and suspend her career that has transformed the National Rally into a major political force. Such a verdict could also reverberate on the European Union, by sidelining a fierce critic of the 27-nation bloc. Kylian Mbappé condemns Paraguayan senator over racist remarks after World Cup match 2 MIN READ Macron arrives in Syria as first major Western leader to visit war-torn country under new leadership 2 MIN READ A timeline of Marine Le Pen’s political career and the rise of the French far right 3 MIN READ If she is barred, her protege Jordan Bardella would replace her. Bardella, 30, is the current president of the anti-immigration, EU-skeptic National Rally. Other outcomes also are possible. The appeals court could still find Le Pen guilty but reduce the ban on holding elected office to two years or less — or impose no ban at all. A ban of two years or less would expire before the first round of the French presidential election, scheduled in April 2027. But that does not automatically mean Le Pen would run. She has said that if the court imposes other constraints that make campaigning difficult, she might decide not to run. That could include any prison sentence, electronic monitoring or other judicial restrictions. “If I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible,” Le Pen said in an interview last week. Prosecutors asked the appeals court to sentence Le Pen to four years in prison, including three suspended, in addition to a ban on holding elected office for five years. They accused Le Pen of being at the head of a “system” meant to “siphon off” EU public funds to the benefit of her party. Although prosecutors did not ask for it, the appeals court is free to order the ban on holding elected office to take immediate effect, like the lower court did. Le Pen could still appeal to the Court of Cassation, France’s highest court, but it’s unclear whether judges would suspend the sentence pending a final ruling. The Court of Cassation has previously said that, if asked to review the case, it would seek to issue a ruling before the 2027 presidential election. SYLVIE CORBET Corbet is an Associated Press reporter based in Paris. She covers French politics, diplomacy and defense as well as gender issues and breaking news. twitter