The Paris Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Rally party in parliament, for the misuse of European Parliament funds, but reduced her sentence and shortened the ban on running for public office, Le Monde reports.

Le Pen was fined €100,000 and sentenced to three years in prison, with two years suspended and one year to be served at home under electronic monitoring. The court also reduced the ban on standing for election from five years to 45 months, with 30 months suspended.

According to Le Monde, Le Pen has already served the non-suspended portion of the 45-month election ban, as the count began on March 31, 2025, when the lower court issued its verdict.

Whether Le Pen will run for president remains uncertain, the publication writes. Before the ruling, the politician repeatedly stated that she would not campaign while wearing an electronic bracelet. Le Pen is expected to make a televised appearance on the evening of July 7.

In March 2025, a Paris court found Le Pen guilty of misusing European Parliament funds. The charges alleged that Le Pen and other National Rally members hired fictitious assistants for MEPs. These assistants actually worked in France for party interests and performed tasks unrelated to European Parliament activities. The initial five-year election ban would have prevented her from running in the 2027 presidential election.

Le Pen has run for president three times (2012, 2017, and 2022) and planned to run in 2027, calling it her final attempt. At the time of the verdict, she was leading in opinion polls.

Source: www.gazeta.uz