French appeals court upholds Marine Le Pen conviction with modified sentence

The Paris Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of 57-year-old Marine Le Pen for the misappropriation of European Parliament funds used to pay party staff. The court reduced her previous five-year ban from holding public office to 45 months, of which 30 months have already been served, leaving 15 months remaining. This ruling potentially allows Le Pen to register as a candidate for the 2027 French presidential election, though significant political and logistical challenges persist. The court sentenced her to three years in prison, with two years suspended, and ordered her to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet for the remaining year. Discrepancies exist between sources regarding the fine, with reports citing figures of €100,000 and €2,000,000. The case originally involved the misappropriation of funds exceeding €2 million to €4 million. Le Pen and the prosecution have ten days to appeal the decision to the Court of Cassation. Twelve other parliamentary assistants and eight former MEPs were also convicted in the initial case.