French Prosecutors Seek Le Pen Ban Uphold in Appeal

In Paris on February 3, 2026, French prosecutors called for upholding the conviction of National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and imposing a five-year ban on her holding elected office, a ruling that could derail her plans to run in the 2027 presidential election. The request came during closing arguments in Le Pen's appeal trial at the Paris Court of Appeal, where she and 10 other party officials, along with the National Rally as a legal entity, are challenging a March 2025 guilty verdict for misusing European Parliament funds.

The case centers on allegations that from 2004 to 2016, Le Pen and her associates hired parliamentary aides who primarily worked for the party, then known as the National Front, rather than performing duties for European lawmakers. Prosecutors described this as a structured system to divert public funds, providing the party with financial benefits at the expense of the European Parliament. In the initial trial, Le Pen was sentenced to four years in prison, with two years suspended, a 100,000 euro fine, and the five-year ineligibility period, which took immediate effect and upended her status as a leading contender to succeed President Emmanuel Macron.