Marine Le Pen announced on Tuesday that she would run for president of France next year, after an appeals court reduced her sentence to make her eligible.
The Paris Court of Appeals shortened Le Pen’s ban on running for office on Tuesday, though the court mandated that she must wear an ankle bracelet during the campaign season. Le Pen was so confident that the ankle bracelet provision would be removed on appeal that she declared her candidacy for the 2027 presidential election on Tuesday.
“Tonight, I am a candidate for the presidential election,” she declared, adding, “I will not change my mind.”
A National Rally party official told BFMTV that Le Pen had told her lieutenant and chosen successor, Jordan Bardella, of her decision after consulting her lawyers. The two were seen walking out of National Rally headquarters together.
The ruling on Tuesday didn’t satisfy anyone, angering Le Pen’s supporters by mandating she wear an ankle bracelet during campaign season, a provision Le Pen has said would exclude her from running, while angering her rivals for clearing her to run for office again by 2027.
Bardella’s star had been rising after taking Le Pen’s place as president of the National Rally. The most recent surveys have him polling higher than Le Pen, leading many in the party to view the younger, charismatic successor as their best chance at finally accomplishing Le Pen’s life goal of putting the party in power.
Le Pen has run for president three times before, getting to the runoff in 2017 and 2022, though she lost both times. Lingering problems from inflation, immigration, and an aging population have strewn disillusionment with France’s traditional parties and boosted RN’s chances, giving the party its best shot yet.
Le Pen’s decision to announce her run on Tuesday was also notable as she had previously ruled out appealing to the higher court, arguing that the legal uncertainty could hurt the party’s chances.
Le Pen’s public positioning and rhetoric were conscious of the dynamic with Bardella, repeatedly stressing how close and loyal the two were. On multiple occasions during Tuesday’s interview, she stressed that the two were a package deal, and Bardella would be the prime minister, the junior leadership position in France, if she won.
Le Pen denied any tension between the two, responding, “You are too accustomed to the typical political class,” when asked if Bardella was disappointed she decided to run. She described their partnership as “complementary, balanced, coherent, and solid.”
Her conscious pairing with Bardella could also indicate a backup plan, allowing him to easily transition to the top spot if legal troubles arise.
Despite Le Pen’s apparent confidence that the appeal over her ankle bracelet will be successful, there’s no sure sign.
Marie-Suzanne Le Queau, Attorney General at the Paris Court of Appeal, said she would decide on whether to hear the appeal next week.
“I have not read this judgment, I discovered that the ruling was 339 pages long,” Le Queau said. “I need to look at it, to analyze it because the Court of Cassation does not retry the case, it rules on the application of the rule of law, I must look at the legal reasoning of the court to see if I have grounds for appeal.”
MARINE LE PEN ELIGIBLE TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2027, BUT UNDER CONDITIONS SHE REJECTS
Le Pen was sentenced in March 2025 to four years in prison, with two suspended, and a five-year ban on running for office, over her National Rally party’s alleged embezzlement of European Union funds. The Paris Court of Appeals on Tuesday shortened the ban on running for office to 45 months, with 30 of those suspended and the remaining 15 months backdated to her March 2025 sentence. Her prison sentence was reduced to three years, with two suspended and one in house arrest.
Le Pen has maintained that she and her political party are innocent.