Marine Le Pen appeals EU funds misuse conviction, with Paris appeal court set to rule Tuesday on eligibility

France is awaiting a key decision from an appeal court in Paris after far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen challenged a conviction tied to allegations that her party misused European parliamentary funds. The appeal is scheduled to be decided on Tuesday, according to reporting this week, in a case that could directly affect whether Le Pen is eligible to hold public office under French law.

Le Pen was found guilty in a prior trial for misusing European parliamentary funds, the reporting said. The conviction, originating from a trial concluded last year, stemmed from allegations that National Rally staff in Paris operated a system designed to obtain payments from EU funds by posing as European parliamentary assistants in Brussels and Strasbourg.

At the original trial, Le Pen was sentenced to two years in prison, with a group of other National Rally officials also convicted and appealing. The reporting also said that 10 party officials, out of 25 originally convicted, have continued the appeal in the case now before the court in Paris.

During courtroom proceedings earlier this year, Le Pen’s lawyer, Rudolphe Bosselut, argued to the court that the presidential election made the ruling uniquely consequential. He told the court in February that, because of the presidential election, the decision the judges would render was of “dizzying significance,” as reported by the outlet covering the case.

In this appeal, the court is expected to rule whether to confirm, overturn, or adapt the verdict and sentence from the earlier trial. The reported timeline also describes the judges as having deliberated for months after the case was heard, leading to the Tuesday decision that lawyers and party officials will treat as a potential turning point for the next election’s field of candidates.

Under the rules described in the reporting, if the appeal court were to uphold the conviction in a way that renders Le Pen ineligible for office, her candidacy would be blocked. In that scenario, National Rally’s presidential ticket would shift to her scheduled substitute, Jordan Bardella, who would then be positioned as the party’s presidential candidate for next year’s election, while the party pursues its broader legal strategy in the same case.

The stakes are broader than a single race. The case concerns allegations about the use of public and supranational funds, and it will test how French courts manage the intersection of political leadership and eligibility requirements when a criminal judgment is still under review.

For now, Tuesday’s appeal ruling will determine whether Le Pen’s conviction and sentence continue to carry legal consequences for candidacy, or whether the court modifies the outcome. Additional appeals by other convicted National Rally officials are also part of the procedural picture as the case moves from trial to appellate scrutiny.