Overview
- Judges heard Balkany’s appeal in a non-public session on October 1 and scheduled their decision for November 5, according to the Paris court.
- Patrick Balkany says he will run for mayor if the ban is lifted, and if not he will back a slate he describes as a “Balkany list.”
- His lawyer argues the decade-long ineligibility is without precedent and maintains the crimes were not committed in the exercise of his public mandates.
- The Paris criminal court rejected his initial request to lift the ban in February 2025, prompting this appeal.
- Balkany was convicted on appeal in 2020 of tax fraud and money laundering tied to about €13 million in concealed assets, including villas in the Caribbean and Morocco, and received prison terms plus a 10-year bar from elected office.