French appeals court lifts Marine Le Pen’s ban on running for 2027 presidency, but links eligibility to an electronic tag she rejects

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Rally, has been cleared to run for president in the April 2027 election after a Paris appeals court upheld her conviction but reduced the period during which she was barred from holding office, CBS News reported on July 7. The ruling also reinstated a requirement that she serve part of her sentence under house arrest with an electronic tracking tag, a condition she previously said was not something she could accept or comply with for the purposes of campaigning.

The case centers on Le Pen’s conviction in a separate embezzlement matter connected to European Union funding used for party staff, CBS News reported. She had been sentenced last year to five years of ineligibility to run in presidential elections following the conviction, while also receiving additional punishment including prison time and fines. Her appeals process led to adjustments in the terms of her eligibility, but the court’s latest decision left an electronic monitoring condition in place, which will affect how she can participate in day-to-day campaign activity.

According to CBS News, the appeals court reduced her ineligibility period to 45 months. Of that total, 30 months were suspended and 15 months were to be served. CBS News said Le Pen had already been ineligible for the required portion of time under the revised sentence, meaning she is now eligible to be a candidate in the 2027 national election. The decision effectively changes her political status immediately, even as the broader criminal case remains resolved through the appeals stage described by the reporting.

CBS News also reported that the appeals court reinstated elements of Le Pen’s sentence that had been suspended during the appeals process, including house arrest terms and financial penalties. The reporting said the house arrest and fine were reinstated by the court’s ruling on Tuesday, and that the judge reduced the prison term to three years rather than four, with two years suspended and one year subject to an electronic tag under house arrest.

Le Pen did not immediately announce whether she intended to seek the presidency, CBS News reported. She was expected to address the outcome at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Eastern) on Tuesday. While the ruling clears the legal pathway for her candidacy under the eligibility rules that apply to the presidency, the electronic tag requirement has become the key practical dispute, with Le Pen previously saying it would be impossible to campaign freely while under such restrictions.

The decision comes as French courts continue to play a direct role in determining political eligibility following convictions, even for candidates who remain prominent national figures. In this case, the appeals court did not erase the conviction described in reporting, but it modified how long her status was barred and restored a set of monitoring conditions that will shape the constraints she faces if she chooses to run.