Le Pen opens 2027 campaign after court keeps candidacy alive
Marine Le Pen began her latest presidential bid in La Fleche after an appeals court confirmed an embezzlement conviction but let her run.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
Marine Le Pen began campaigning for France’s 2027 presidential election on Wednesday, a day after an appeals court decision kept her bid alive despite confirming her conviction over European Union funds. The ruling leaves one of France’s most prominent far-right politicians in the race while her legal challenge continues.
According to Al Jazeera and Reuters, Le Pen appeared at a street market in La Fleche, a town in western France’s Loire Valley, where the reception showed the strain between her political strength and her court record. Some people shouted criticism, including calls for her to repay money and go to jail, while supporters answered with chants backing her for president.
Le Pen, 57, has run for president three times before and is leading opinion polls ahead of next year’s election, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. Her campaign launch followed an appeals court ruling that confirmed her conviction for embezzling European Union money to pay party workers, while allowing her to remain a candidate.
In La Fleche, Le Pen said the purpose of her campaign was to deliver what she called France’s revival. Her team had earlier put up a campaign website showing her with outstretched arms and the slogan “For France, Revival,” according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
Le Pen said the town carried political meaning for her National Rally party. La Fleche had long been associated with the left, but in March elected a 25-year-old mayor from Le Pen’s anti-immigration party, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
Reporters repeatedly pressed Le Pen about the court case. She said she did not intend to spend the campaign discussing legal issues, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. Supporters nearby asked for photos, and Le Pen posed with them.
Appeal could affect final campaign stretch
The appeals court ordered Le Pen to wear an electronic ankle monitor for one year, a requirement that would have forced her to return home each night during the campaign, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported. That order was suspended after she announced a final appeal to France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation.
The high court said Wednesday it could rule by early April 2027, before the two rounds of the presidential election scheduled for April 18 and May 2. It also said procedural issues could alter that timetable, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
If the court upholds the ruling early enough for it to take effect, Le Pen could be required to wear the electronic tag during the closing weeks or days of the campaign. If she wins the presidency before the court rules, she would not have to comply with the verdict until after leaving office, Al Jazeera and Reuters reported.
The National Rally had been preparing for the possibility that Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 30-year-old protege and party president, might have to run instead. Le Pen’s decision to proceed with her candidacy delays Bardella’s path to a presidential run, although she has said he would be her prime minister if she reaches the Elysee Palace.
Bardella stood with Le Pen at the La Fleche event and said he was pleased to launch her campaign, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.