The leader of France’s far-right continues to be out of the running for the next presidential election, as the country’s highest administrative court announced today that it was rejecting Le Pen’s challenge to the electoral law she filed after a criminal court ruling against her for embezzlement, which barred her from running for any public office for five years.
A final decision in the case against Le Pen and other members of her party is expected in January, but Le Pen had filed a separate appeal at the Conseil d’État, France’s highest administrative court, challenging electoral law that could prevent her from running again.
Le Pen is hoping for elections before January to get a parliamentary seat
If France’s political crisis leads to early parliamentary elections, Le Pen intends to be re-elected in the department of Pas-de-Calais.
The Supreme Court announced that it was rejecting Le Pen’s appeal because it “did not seek to repeal the regulations, but rather to amend the law.” The articles he had disputed were either non-existent or irrelevant, the relevant announcement states.
Le Pen’s lawyer, Rodolphe Bocello, told Reuters the Court’s ruling would not prevent his client from running for parliament before the final ruling in January.
“It does not in any way affect her ability to stand as a candidate in future parliamentary elections,” he said.
What does the sentence that has been imposed on her provide?
The Paris Criminal Court’s ruling in March sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison, including two years to be served, a 100,000 euro ($116,230.00) fine and a five-year ban from holding public office, which was immediately enforceable despite pending appeals.
The decision called into question her ability to run in the 2027 presidential election, in which she remains the favorite.
Le Pen had argued in her appeal that the law’s immediate application to people convicted of certain crimes – including those related to corruption, fraud or misuse of public funds – unfairly infringed on her civil rights.
