Marine Le Pen to run for French presidency and appeal conviction in top court

French hard-right leader Marine Le Pen has said she will run for the presidency in 2027, and appeal to the country’s highest court against an embezzlement conviction that requires her to wear an electronic tag for a year.

“I can’t campaign with a tag,” the National Rally leader told French TV in a combative primetime interview. “I want to pursue all legal avenues to defend my innocence in this case.”

Hours earlier, a Paris appeal court found her guilty of misusing €2.8m (£2.4m) in EU funds in a fake jobs scheme, but ruled she could stand for the presidency while wearing a tag.

She will now take the case to France’s top civil court, the Court of Cassation.

The decision is a remarkable political gamble – and it puts an end to months of speculation that Le Pen would hand the candidacy to the 30-year-old president of her party, Jordan Bardella.

Public prosecutors have also said they will appeal.

Asked whether there was a scenario in which she might not run, she said: “No, there isn’t. I am here tonight to tell you I am candidate for the 2027 elections.”

She said her campaign would start immediately to “begin the rebirth of France” – and that she would not change her mind.

Although Le Pen continues to maintain her innocence, she and a number of party colleagues have now been found guiltytwice of a scam that she denied organising but did admit earlier to being “a mistake”.

Paris appeal court confirmed the initial ruling that between 2004-16 she and others had embezzled funds meant for members of the European Parliament and had used the money to pay for party staff.

Her decision to announce her candidacy comes less than 10 months before first round of the French presidential elections on 18 April and 2 May 2027.

The Court of Cassation is likely to take a few months to reach a decision. If it does confirm Tuesday’s verdict, Le Pen could find herself having to wear an electronic tag as the election campaign moves into its most important period early next year. This would risk becoming an embarrassment as well as a handicap.

In the hours after Tuesday’s court verdict, Le Pen was locked in talks with Jordan Bardella, as well as lawyers and party colleagues. Then she and Bardella were driven to the studios of TF1 TV for her decision.

She said Jordan Bardella had been with her for years and the cause was greater than the two of them: “We both have beliefs – we both imagine this role seriously. And we have character… The tests we have gone through have made us stronger, both in will and in the quality of our work together.”

If elected, she stated she and Bardella would work together – she as president and he as prime minister. “We have a solid partnership, we complement each other.”

Ahead of Tuesday’s verdict Le Pen had said several times she would not run for president if she had to wear tag as she would not feel “totally free” to campaign.

When asked what would happen if her appeal to the Court of Cassation did not go her way, she said: “We will see, and the French will be the judge, because the good news from this evening is they will be free to choose”.