Paris court clears way for Marine Le Pen presidential election run but under conditions she rejects - Europe live

Intriguing verdict that poses gut-wrenching personal dilemma for Le Pen - snap analysis

Jon Henley

Europe correspondent

It’s an intriguing verdict: the court has ruled Marine Le Pen eligible to run in next year’s presidential elections by in effect reducing her term of inelegibilty for public office to just 15 months – but at the same time it has ensured it will be very difficult for her to to do so by ordering her to wear an electronic bracelet for one year, something she has repeatedly said she will not do.

It is understood that several senior party members have tried to persuade her to run anyway, but – so far at least – she has refused.

Marine Le Pen leave after the verdict in the appeal trial in Paris, France. Photograph: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

It would obviously be a gut-wrenching personal decision for her to stand aside: transforming the Rally from a fringe extremist group to the largest single party in parliament has been pretty much her life’s work, and this would have been her fourth tilt at the presidency.

But the decision may be made easier by the fact that Jordan Bardella, her protege, is polling even higher than her – and she would be able to act as his closest adviser on the campaign trail.

Key events

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Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has been speaking in Ankara as part of his meeting with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Asked about his meeting with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy tomorrow, he went into a long monologue on the state of the war, repeatedly praising Russia’s Vladimir Putin and his conversations with him.

But the bottom line of his point was this:

“I think they both want to make a deal. It’s too bad it took so long, but I think there’s going to be something … going to come out.”

He added:

“They both want to get it settled… I think they are going to, I think we’re going to get it settled hopefully soon.”

Macron declines to comment on Le Pen ruling

France’s Emmanuel Macron has just been asked about his response to the ruling as a joint press conference with Syria’s president Ahmed al-Sharaa.

But he doesn’t take the bait when asked if the ruling is “healthy for democracy.”

He says:

“What is healthy for democracy is that the president of the Republic does not speak about judicial decisions.

Therefore, I will adhere to this principle, especially abroad.”

Details of Le Pen's tag monitoring to be decided at a later date

Paris correspondent
in Paris courtroom

In terms of process, a different judge will consider at a later date the exact workings of any electronic tag or monitoring for Le Pen.

The tag requirement could make any potential presidential campaign politically ⁠and logistically difficult.

Le Pen arrives at RN's HQ for political talks on her future

Le Pen has now arrived at the RN’s HQ in 16th arrondissement and is now believed to be meeting with Jordan Bardella and their closest aides to decide on the next steps.

For what it’s worth, after leaving the court, Le Pen is now en route to her party’s HQ now, followed by what looks like gazillion of reporters, cameras and photographers on mopeds.

The party’s president and a potential back-up presidential candidate Jordan Bardella is believed to be there, so the pair will no doubt want to discuss their next steps.

Le Pen not expected to comment until her prime time TV interview

Paris correspondent
in Paris courtroom

Marine Le Pen and her lawyers are not expected to comment on her next steps until she appears on television news tonight at 8pm Paris time.

Le Pen’s lawyer Rodolphe Bosselut gives only a very general response to the ruling, noting the shift in the court’s approach, including the issue of eligibility to run in the 2027 election, which “is an extremely important point.”

“We are considering the decision as a whole,” he says, with more to be said on this later.

But he says he is “partially” happy with the verdict, calling it a “good start.”

But we are not an inch closer to knowing what Le Pen’s will do next.

Intriguing verdict that poses gut-wrenching personal dilemma for Le Pen - snap analysis

Europe correspondent

It’s an intriguing verdict: the court has ruled Marine Le Pen eligible to run in next year’s presidential elections by in effect reducing her term of inelegibilty for public office to just 15 months – but at the same time it has ensured it will be very difficult for her to to do so by ordering her to wear an electronic bracelet for one year, something she has repeatedly said she will not do.

It is understood that several senior party members have tried to persuade her to run anyway, but – so far at least – she has refused.

It would obviously be a gut-wrenching personal decision for her to stand aside: transforming the Rally from a fringe extremist group to the largest single party in parliament has been pretty much her life’s work, and this would have been her fourth tilt at the presidency.

But the decision may be made easier by the fact that Jordan Bardella, her protege, is polling even higher than her – and she would be able to act as his closest adviser on the campaign trail.

Le Pen leaves court without talking to reporters

Marine Le Pen has just left the court without talking to reporters.

So we will have to wait a bit longer to know what her plans are.

Ruling shifts the decision on Le Pen's presidential run from legal to political - snap analysis

It’s a complicated ruling, so let’s take a moment to unpack it.

While the shortening of the ban on holding public office technically clears the way for her to run in the 2027 presidential election, the requirement to wear an electronic tag makes it extremely difficult – both practically and politically – for her to do so, particularly given her previous comments on the matter.

Crucially, it effectively shifts the question of whether she will run from a legal issue to a political one.

The court’s decision effectively shortens the ban on holding public office to 15 months, with the remaining 30 months suspended.

The ban began on 31 March last year, so it will end well before the presidential election in April next year.

But the electronic tag requirement would make it all practically complicated for Le Pen to campaign – and that’s before we even consider the tricky issues of political optics and her previous comments that she would not go down this route.

But we won’t know what she will do for sure until we hear from her directly; the latest when she is expected on TF1 at 8pm French time (7pm UK).

Paris court theoretically clears way for Le Pen presidential run, but with electronic tag, which she rejected as no-go

We are getting first lines from the Paris court, with the judge confirming Le Pen is guilty of misusing public funds, but changing her ineligiblity to hold public office to 45 months, with 30 months suspended.

This means theoretically she could run in the election.

However, she will also get a three-year jail sentence with two years suspended and one year of wearing an electronic tag, and a €100,000 fine.

For what it’s worth, she has previously repeatedly said she would not run if she would have to wear an electronic bracelet during the campaign.

“If I’m allowed to be a candidate but am effectively prevented from campaigning freely, then you understand that wouldn’t be possible,” Le Pen said in an interview last week.

If you are looking to refresh your memory and figure out what the Le Pen case is about, here is Angelique Chrisafis’s helpful explainer from last year.

The French media are stressing the same point we made earlier (13:13): we will have to wait until the very end of the ruling to know what it truly means for Le Pen.

It may take a few hours before we get there.

Meanwhile, the RN’s president and a potential back-up candidate Jordan Bardella is following the court’s decision from his office at the party headquarters.

Court in session to deliver verdict in Le Pen's appeal

Here we go! The court is now in session.

We will bring you updates as and when we get them.