Le Pen appeal set to be heard before presidential vote

The Paris Court of Appeal has said it will Marine Le Pen’s case within a time frame that could potentially allow her to contest the 2027 presidential election if her conviction is overturned.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen reacts at the National Assembly during a session on Tuesday in Paris. Picture: AP/Michel Euler

The Paris Court of Appeal has said it will Marine Le Pen’s case within a time frame that could potentially allow the far-right leader to contest the 2027 presidential election if her conviction for embezzlement is overturned.

In a court ruling many commentators called a political earthquake, the leader of the National Rally (RN) was given a prison term and fine on Monday (local time) after being convicted of a fake jobs scheme at the EU parliament, a verdict that sparked an international echo including from US President Donald Trump.

But the most serious part of the conviction was a five-year ban — effective immediately — on standing for office, which eliminates her from the race.

However the Court of Appeal said a decision on the case could be reached “in the summer of 2026,” meaning the decision would be handed down well before the 2027 presidential election, in which Ms Le Pen wants to run for the fourth time.

Earlier on Tuesday, the 56-year-old who considered herself the favourite in the 2027 election where President Emmanuel Macron cannot stand again, accused “the system” of rolling out “the nuclear bomb” in a bid to end her presidential hopes.

“If they use such a powerful weapon against us, it’s obviously because we’re about to win an election,” she said.

“We won’t let this happen.”

Ms Le Pen has said she will appeal the “political decision”, though a new trial is not expected to take place for at least a year.

Should that fail, there is also a “plan B”, a candidacy by her protege and RN party leader Jordan Bardella, a 29-year-old with a slick television and social media presence.

In a statement signed by the chief justice, Jacques Boulard, and the attorney general, Marie-Suzanne Le Queau, the court said it had received three appeals against the rulings handed down on Monday.

The announcement was made after Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, speaking during a tense parliament session, expressed hope that Ms Le Pen’s appeal would be heard within the “most reasonable time frame”.

“I personally hope that if Mrs Le Pen lodges an appeal, this new Judgement at the Paris Court of Appeal can take place within the most reasonable time frame,” Darmanin told parliament.

Analysts said the court decision could deepen France’s political crisis and cast a shadow on the upcoming 2027 polls.

Mr Bardella said the party would seek to organise “peaceful” rallies this weekend. Speaking to Europe 1 radio, he said that Ms Le Pen had been judged with “brutality and violence” and that her only mistake was to “have the capacity to take the national camp to victory”.

“Everything will be done to prevent us from coming to power,” he said. He added that the situation could boost the fortunes of the RN. “I tell the French do not lose hope. I think that what is happening will make millions of people who do not vote for the RN, vote for the RN,” he said.

“We are wounded. But we are far from being dead.”

‘Leading candidate’

Ms Le Pen’s conviction sparked angry reactions from far-right figures across Europe but also from the Kremlin, X owner Elon Musk and Trump, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed concern.

“She was banned from running for five years and she is the leading candidate. That sounds like this country,” said Mr Trump, comparing her conviction to the “lawfare” he says was waged against him before becoming president.

But the French government and prosecutors hit out against attacks on the judiciary and in particular against Benedicte de Perthuis, 63, the judge specialised in financial crimes who issued the verdict.

Analysts said the court decision could deepen France’s political crisis.

Her National Rally (RN), which is the largest single party in parliament, can complicate life for Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who does not have a majority in the lower-house National Assembly.

“Guilty,” French daily Liberation said on its front page, calling the ruling a “political earthquake”.

‘Not a political decision’

Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin denounced “unacceptable” threats made against the judges while France’s prosecutor general Remy Heitz said the verdict was “not a political decision but a legal one”.

Ms Le Pen took over the former National Front (FN) from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 2011 and has since sought to clean up its image. Her father, who died in January, was often accused of making racist and anti-Semitic comments.

After three unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 2012, 2017 and 2022, polls had shown Ms Le Pen to be on course to easily top the first round with a chance of winning the presidency in the second round run-off.

She was given a four-year prison term by the Paris court. Two years were suspended and the other two would be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet.

Ms Le Pen was convicted for a scheme where the party was found to have eased the pressure on its own finances by using European parliament monthly allowances to pay “fictitious” parliamentary assistants, who actually worked for the party.

Twenty-four people — including Ms Le Pen — were convicted, all of them RN party officials or assistants.