PREVIEW

French Court Eases Le Pen's Electoral Ban, Reviving 2027 Presidential Hopes. A French appeals court has upheld Marine Le Pen's conviction for misappropriating more than €4 million in European Union funds to pay party staff but reduced the length of her electoral ban. The ruling also requires the far-right leader to wear an electronic monitoring tag, adding a new legal constraint despite easing the original sentence. By shortening the ban, the court has potentially reopened a path for Le Pen to run in France's 2027 presidential election, although the monitoring requirement could complicate any campaign. The decision partially overturns a 2025 judgment that had imposed a five-year ban from holding elected office, effectively ruling her out of the presidential race. Le Pen has consistently denied wrongdoing and argued that the prosecution was politically motivated. Her party, the National Rally, continues to lead opinion polls less than a year before President Emmanuel Macron is due to leave office at the end of his second term. If Le Pen is ultimately unable to stand, National Rally president Jordan Bardella remains the party's most likely presidential candidate.
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