Paris [France], July 8: French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has said she will run for presidency in next year's election, in her first public remarks since a Paris appeals court upheld her conviction for embezzlement of public funds.
"This evening, I am a candidate for the presidential election," she told broadcaster TF1 late on Tuesday, adding that she would appeal the ruling.
Le Pen and her National Rally party are widely seen as strong contenders to reach the presidential run-off next spring. However, her candidacy still faces legal uncertainty.
While the court upheld the lower court's conviction, it reduced her sentence. The appeals court handed her one year of house arrest under electronic monitoring, with two years suspended, and stripped her of the right to stand for public office for 15 months. It said Le Pen has already served the period of ineligibility imposed after her conviction in March 2025. A further 30 months of the ban on running for office were suspended.
Le Pen had previously said she would decide whether to run for president depending on the outcome of the appeal, as her candidacy might otherwise have been legally impossible.
Source: Qatar Tribune
