Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen has vowed to run as a candidate in the French presidential election next year, despite a sentencing on appeal that demanded that she wear an electronic tag for a year.
"Tonight, I am a candidate in the presidential election," Ms Le Pen told public broadcaster TF1 in her first public comments after her sentencing. She had spent the afternoon locked in party headquarters with legal advisers and party heir, Jordan Bardella, 30.
Earlier in the day, Ms Le Pen appeared in person in court to listen to judges sentence her to three years in prison, two of which are suspended. They confirmed her guilty verdict for embezzlement of public funds and fined her €100,000 ($113,398).
Imposing an ankle tag would effectively force three-time candidate Ms Le Pen to return home every night. This raised questions as to whether she would run in the presidential race, in which she is a favourite.
Before Tuesday's ruling, Ms Le Pen repeatedly rejected the possibility of running for president with an ankle bracelet, saying last week that it would "not be possible" because it would limit her freedom of movement during campaigning next year.
Court of Cassation
Ms Le Pen told TF1 there was no discrepancy to her running because she would appeal against her sentence at France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, in a procedure she says automatically cancels the appeals sentence.
"I made up my mind very quickly ... I will campaign without an electronic tag," she said.
Ms Le Pen repeated her innocence: "My hands are clean and I will file an appeal to the Court of Cassation to prove it." She rejected suggestions that she could face a similar sentence to the initial one handed to her in March 2025 by first-instance judges. They gave her an election ban of five years and a four-year jail term, two of which were suspended.
"I want to see this through to the end, as any litigant has the right to do, by exhausting all available avenues of appeal to defend my innocence in this case," she said.
This means the presidential race starts on Thursday for Ms Le Pen, who said she would run with Mr Bardella as a partner and would appoint him Prime Minister if she won.
Her decision brought criticism from political opponents, who questioned the morality of it. "Obviously, there is a moral dimension to this situation," said centrist politician and former prime minister Gabriel Attal, 37, also a presidential candidate.
"Everyone grasps the significance of what is happening: a politician, convicted twice of actual prison sentences for the misappropriation of public funds, has chosen to run for president," Mr Attal told TF1. "I belong to a new generation of politicians for whom setting an example and probity are the most important values."
Misuse of European funds
The judges' decision on Tuesday allowing Ms Le Pen to run while confirming her guilt was widely described as protecting the judiciary from further criticism.
Her party had criticised judges for being undemocratic by deciding who was allowed to run for president. Last year, Mr Bardella famously used the phrase: the "tyranny of judges".
Ms Le Pen was found guilty of directly organising eight fictitious contracts worth about €474,000 ($542,000) while serving in the European Parliament.
At the heart of the case was the question of whether aides were hired through “fake” contracts and worked to further the far-right party’s domestic agenda rather than focusing on European matters, as contractually required.
During the first trial, 25 people, as well as the party, were convicted. Not everyone appealed.
