The Paris Court of Appeal said on Tuesday, April 1, that it would examine far-right leader Marine Le Pen's case "within a timeframe that should allow a decision to be reached in the summer of 2026."
The communiqué sent on Tuesday evening read: "The Paris Court of Appeal confirms that it has received three appeals today against the decision handed down on March 31, 2025, by the Paris Judicial Court in the case. It will examine this case within a timeframe that should allow it to render a decision in the summer of 2026."
This could mean that the new trial would be held by early 2026 at the latest, and that the decision would therefore be handed down well before the 2027 presidential election, in which Le Pen wants to run for the fourth time.
A Paris court on Monday sentenced Le Pen to a five-year ban on running for public office with immediate effect, throwing into doubt her bid to stand for president in 2027. She was also given a four-year prison term but will not go to jail, with two years of the term suspended and the other two to be served outside jail with an electronic bracelet, the court ruled. Le Pen's lawyer said two hours after the decision that she would appeal.
Including Le Pen, nine current or former MEPs from the far-right Rassembement National (RN) party were convicted. Twelve assistants were also convicted of concealing a crime, with the court estimating the scheme was worth €2.9 million. All the RN officials, including Le Pen, were banned from running for office, with the judge specifying that the sanction should come into force with immediate effect even if an appeal is lodged.
The three-time presidential candidate was accused of having hired four fictitious assistants when she was a member of the European Parliament (2004-2017). In reality, they were working for her party, the Front National (FN, now RN). The assistants, who were paid by the European Parliament, carried out tasks linked to the management of the party rather than work related to European parliamentary activity, as is normally required of such positions. In addition to the suspicions of fictitious employment, the court suspected Le Pen of having been at the heart of an organized and centralized "embezzlement system" of money paid by the European Union to her party between 2004 and 2016.