PARIS (Reuters) -France’s highest administrative court rejected a challenge to electoral rules by far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Wednesday, dealing a blow to her efforts to overturn a sentence that could derail her candidacy in the 2027 presidential election.
Le Pen was barred in March from seeking public office for five years after a French court convicted her and other members of her party for misappropriation of funds. Le Pen has said the case and the decision were politically motivated.
The Paris Criminal Court sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison, including two to be served, a 100,000-euro ($116,230.00) fine and a five-year ban on holding public office, which is immediately enforceable despite pending appeals.
Le Pen had argued that the immediate application of the law that bars people convicted of certain crimes — including those related to corruption, fraud, or misuse of public funds — unfairly infringed upon her political rights.
“Today, the Council of State rejected this appeal because it did not seek to repeal regulatory provisions but rather to amend the law, which exceeds the powers of the Prime Minister,” the court said in a statement.
The contested articles either did not exist, or were unrelated to the execution of ineligibility penalties, the court said.
The ruling has cast doubt on her ability to run in the 2027 presidential election, where she remains a leading contender.
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(Reporting by Alban Kacher; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
