Overview

• Marine Le Pen was convicted in March of embezzlement in an EU Parliament fake jobs scam and received a five-year ban from public office.
• She has appealed the ruling and expects a Paris appeals court to issue a decision in summer 2026 that could overturn or amend her sentence.
• In a Valeurs Actuelles interview, Le Pen said she has accepted the possibility of being unable to run and asked Jordan Bardella to prepare to take up the torch.
• Jordan Bardella, 29, was named leader of the National Rally and is widely viewed as Le Pen’s heir apparent within the far-right party.
• The field for the 2027 French presidential election remains largely undefined, with only former prime minister Edouard Philippe having declared his candidacy.