French far-right leader Le Pen announces 2027 presidential bid amid corruption case twist

(CNA Paris, July 8) -- French far-right leader Marine Le Pen announced today that she will run in the 2027 presidential election and has appealed to the Supreme Court regarding her conviction for embezzlement. Multiple polls show the far-right leading in the first round of next year's general election.

Le Pen is accused of misappropriating European Parliament funds, originally intended for assistant salaries, to hire people to work for her party, the National Rally (RN).

The Paris Court of Appeal earlier today found Le Pen guilty, but with a lighter sentence than the previous ruling.

She was sentenced to 3 years in prison, with 2 years suspended and 1 year to be served, potentially with an electronic monitoring device, along with a fine of 100,000 euros (approximately NT$3.67 million) and a 45-month ban from holding public office, of which 30 months are suspended.

The effective ban from holding public office is 15 months. Le Pen was convicted on March 31, 2025, and the 15-month period has effectively expired, allowing Le Pen to participate in the presidential election scheduled for April 2027.

In an interview with TF1 tonight, she firmly maintained her innocence and stated she would appeal to the Supreme Court, believing this would suspend the aforementioned sentence, allowing her to campaign without an electronic monitoring device.

Concurrently, she believes the French people should judge and make the final decision, stating, "Tonight, I am a candidate."

Regarding the future role of National Rally leader Jordan Bardella, Le Pen revealed that if she wins, she will appoint Bardella as Prime Minister, forming a strong duo and launching their campaign soon.

It was previously thought that if Le Pen were unable to run, Bardella would represent the National Rally in the presidential race.

Le Parisien reported that opinion polls from early June showed that whether Bardella or Le Pen ran, they could each secure over 30% of the vote in the first round, with Bardella having a slightly higher chance of winning than Le Pen.

A poll by YouGov, commissioned by HuffPost, also indicated that 52% of National Rally supporters surveyed consider Bardella their first choice.

Following Le Pen's announcement, her campaign website went live with the slogan "For France, Renaissance" (Pour la France, la Renaissance). This will be her fourth presidential election bid.

President Emmanuel Macron, who is visiting Syria, did not comment on the developments, stating that "it is beneficial for democracy when the president does not comment on judicial decisions."

Former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who has announced his candidacy, stated tonight that Le Pen has the right to make this choice and present her ideas to the people, and that the French will listen to her and make the final decision.

Gabriel Attal, who leads the center-right Renaissance party and has announced his candidacy, said that when someone wishes to be president of the Republic, they assure the people that they will uphold the law, and that having been convicted and having a criminal record involves moral issues.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party, who is also running, posted on social media that the situation remains unchanged regardless of who the far-right candidate is, and that he intends to "sweep the National Rally out of the country" in next year's election. (Editor: Chang Chih-hsuan) 1150708

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