Marine Le Pen, the head of France’s right-wing National Rally party, said Tuesday she would run for president of France in 2027. The announcement followed a closely-watched court ruling that, although it upheld Le Pen’s earlier conviction for embezzlement, did not bar her from running in next year’s election.
“I am a candidate for president tonight,” Le Pen told French news channel TF1.
Le Pen had been found guilty of using EU money, meant to support parliamentary assistants in Brussels, to instead pay party staffers working on domestic French politics.
Although Tuesday’s ruling did not overturn the original conviction, it reduced what had been a five-year ban on holding political office to 15 months, clearing the way for Le Pen to make a fourth presidential bid. Le Pen continues to deny wrongdoing in the case.
The announcement ends months of uncertainty over whether Le Pen or Jordan Bardella—the 30-year-old president of the National Rally—would run as the party’s candidate to succeed current president Emmanuel Macron, who is not eligible for a third term.
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