French far-right leader Marine Le Pen says she will run for president

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Far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she would run for the French presidency despite judges upholding her embezzlement conviction, setting up an unprecedented election campaign next year.

“I am a candidate for president tonight,” she told TF1 news channel on Tuesday evening, adding that she would appeal the conviction to France’s highest court for criminal and civil matters. “My hands are clean today. I will go to the Court of Cassation to prove it.”

Le Pen’s decision ends more than a year of uncertainty over whether she or her handpicked successor, Jordan Bardella, would lead the Rassemblement National’s campaign to replace President Emmanuel Macron.

But Le Pen is making a risky bet that voters will back her despite the conviction on corruption offences. No presidential candidate in France has ever run with such a record.

In polls taken before the verdict, Le Pen was far ahead of rivals in potential first-round match-ups to take place in April. But the surveys showed mixed outcomes in a run-off, with Le Pen losing out to certain opponents, including the centre-right leader Édouard Philippe who was polling second.

Appeal judges on Tuesday found Le Pen guilty of a deliberate scheme to use European parliament funds to employ staff working on French national politics rather than their duties in Brussels. They stressed the seriousness of Le Pen’s wrongdoing, saying that as an elected MEP she had an obligation to be ethically above reproach and not misuse taxpayer funds.

But they also gave Le Pen a key reprieve, reducing a five-year electoral ban imposed by the lower court to 45 months with 30 of those suspended. Having already served the remaining 15 months, that left her free to decide whether to run.

The court also sentenced Le Pen to three years in prison, with two years suspended and the remaining year to be served under electronic monitoring.

Le Pen said she would not have to wear an electronic bracelet during the campaign because the appeal to the Court of Cassation would put the sentence on hold.

Asked if she was certain about this outcome, she said: “I have no doubts at all. Jordan Bardella and I will very quickly launch this presidential campaign.” She added: “There is no longer any scenario in which I could not run.”

Shortly after her television appearance, Le Pen announced her campaign on social media with the slogan “For France, for the Renaissance”.

But some experts warned that if the Court of Cassation swiftly confirmed the appeals court ruling then Le Pen would be found guilty and subject to the prison sentence with electronic bracelet.

Such a scenario could severely disrupt her candidacy if it occurred while she was on the campaign trail or even as president-elect.

Rodolphe Bosselut, Le Pen’s lawyer, downplayed that risk, arguing that her second appeal would take anywhere from 12 to 18 months.

Le Pen and Bardella are expected to make an appearance together on Wednesday at a food market — a campaign tradition in France — in the Loire Valley town of La Flèche.

Le Pen, 57, confirmed that Bardella would run on her ticket as prime minister as originally planned. While this is a big prize for a 30-year-old politician, it is also seen as a step down for an ambitious lieutenant who had been preparing intensively to run in Le Pen’s stead.

However, the RN leader insisted there was no friction between the two politicians. “We offer the French a partnership. This partnership has real strength . . . and it’s a winning ticket,” Le Pen said.

Constitutional lawyer Anne-Charlène Bezzina expressed incredulity at the idea that Le Pen would stand for office after such a heavy conviction.

“She is taking the risk of driving her party straight into a wall,” she said, especially since the Court of Cassation could look to fast-track her appeal.

Rivals from across the French political spectrum criticised Le Pen’s decision to press ahead despite the conviction.

“When you aspire to be president of the republic, and therefore guarantee to the French people that you will uphold the laws and rules, obviously there’s a moral dimension to running for office,” said Gabriel Attal, a former prime minister in Macron’s government who is also running for the presidency. “Exemplary conduct and integrity are very important values.”

Le Pen insisted it would have been an “enormous democratic problem” if she had been barred from running. “The French must have the last word, and now they will.”