Marine Le Pen stated on Wednesday that she would withdraw from the 2027 French presidential race if ordered to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, saying such a penalty would prevent her from campaigning effectively.
The French far-right leader added that she would not stand in the election if the court imposed the bracelet requirement, as it would make campaigning impossible, even in the event that any electoral ban were later overturned.
“We can't campaign under these conditions," Le Pen, who leads the far-right party National Rally (RN) in the French parliament, said in an interview with BFM TV on Wednesday.
“Campaigning under house arrest is not possible. Can you campaign without going out in the evenings to meet your constituents at rallies?"
In March 2025, a court in Paris found that Le Pen had played a central role in what it described as a “fraudulent system” used by her party to divert €2.9 million in European Parliament funds, and imposed a five-year ban from holding public office.
During the appeals proceedings, Le Pen admitted that some staff members paid as EU parliamentary assistants carried out work for her party, but maintained that she believed this was permitted and said there had been no attempt to conceal it.
“The mistake lies here: there were certainly some aides, on a case-by-case basis, who must have worked either marginally, more substantially, or entirely … for the benefit of the party. And voilà,” Le Pen told the court.
She also criticised European Parliament officials, arguing that they failed to alert her party that its hiring practices might breach the rules, Euro News reports.
The appeal hearing concluded on 11th February, and the Paris court scheduled the verdict for 7th July.
If the appeals court confirms the original ruling, the three-time presidential contender would be barred from standing in the 2027 election, which is widely regarded as her strongest opportunity to win the French presidency.
Le Pen advanced to the runoff in both the 2017 and 2022 presidential elections, where she was defeated by President Emmanuel Macron on each occasion.
Macron will be ineligible to seek re-election next year, having reached the constitutional limit of two consecutive terms in office.
Le Pen said on Wednesday that the decision over whether she can stand in the 2027 presidential election is not up to her, but rather in the hands of the judges.
“I know perfectly well that the decision regarding this candidacy isn't mine to make. It’s in the hands of three judges who will decide whether or not the millions of French people who want to vote for me will be able to do so.”
She added that if she is ultimately unable to run for office and her protégé, National Rally president Jordan Bardella, were to win the 2027 election, he would decide what “role he wants me to have.”
“If I cannot be a candidate, he will determine at what level he needs my presence, my advice and my experience,” she said.
According to a November 2025 poll, Bardella would win the runoff round of the 2027 election if he were to run, regardless of the opponent he faces.