Le Pen cleared to run for president | 7 July 2026 | Veteran French politician Marine Le Pen has announced that she will run for president in 2027 after an appeals court shortened the ban on holding elected office imposed last year while upholding her conviction over the misuse of European Parliament funds. A three-time presidential candidate who reached the runoff in 2017 and 2022, Le Pen had been widely viewed as the frontrunner to succeed President Emmanuel Macron before last year’s conviction sidelined her from the race. She has denied any wrongdoing. On Tuesday, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld Le Pen’s conviction but reduced her five-year ban on holding elected office to 45 months, with 30 months suspended, making her eligible to stand in 2027. The court also sentenced her to three years in prison, including two years suspended, ordered the remaining year to be served under home detention with electronic monitoring, and imposed a 100,000 euros ($114,000) fine.