Le Pen says she will run for French presidency in 2027
Marine Le Pen told TF1 she will enter the 2027 race after an appeals court decision changed the terms of her public office ban.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
2 min read
Marine Le Pen said she will run for president of France in 2027, putting the National Rally parliamentary leader back into the contest after a court ruling had threatened to block her campaign. The announcement matters because a lower court sentence over a European Parliament fake jobs case had previously placed her eligibility in doubt.
Le Pen made the declaration in an interview with TF1 on Tuesday, according to Al Jazeera. She said she would campaign without wearing an electronic ankle tag because she had the option to appeal and because, in her account, the government was suspending the effects of the ruling.
Earlier on Tuesday, an appeals court reduced her ban on holding elected office to 45 months, with 30 months suspended, Al Jazeera reported. The remaining 15 months were expected to be counted from the initial lower court verdict in March last year.
Legal ruling reshaped the race
The appeals court decision allowed Le Pen to run in the 2027 presidential election if she agreed to wear an electronic ankle tag, according to Al Jazeera. Le Pen had previously said she would not run if she had to campaign under that condition.
Her comments to TF1 marked a shift after the appeals ruling changed the practical effect of the earlier sentence. Le Pen said that, under the circumstances she described, she was now a candidate for the presidency.
The case stems from a fake jobs scam at the European Parliament, Al Jazeera reported. In March last year, a lower court sentenced Le Pen, 57, to a five-year ban from public office and two years in prison.
That lower court decision would have kept her out of the 2027 election, according to Al Jazeera. The appeals court ruling cut the duration of the officeholding ban and suspended most of it, altering the immediate political consequences for Le Pen.
Campaign eligibility remains central
Le Pen leads the Rassemblement National group in France’s parliament. Her decision to declare a presidential bid means her legal status and the conditions attached to the appeals ruling are likely to remain a central issue around her campaign.
Al Jazeera reported that the appeals court ruling came on the same day as Le Pen’s TF1 interview. The report did not include further details on the appeals process or any response from French authorities beyond Le Pen’s description of the ruling’s effects.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.