"As of tonight, I am a candidate for the presidential election," Marine Le Pen said Tuesday evening on French television.
It was the day an appeals court in Paris upheld an earlier ruling against her for embezzlement of EU funds. Le Pen is the leader of the Rassemblement National (RN) faction in the French National Assembly. Her party is considered to range from right-wing populist to far-right.
Le Pen was ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor following the ruling. Her decision to run for the presidency came as a surprise to many, as she herself had previously ruled out campaigning while wearing one.
She has already run for the highest office three times, losing the runoff election twice to incumbent Emmanuel Macron. Macron cannot run again.
Her decision also means that Jordan Bardella, the 30-year-old RN party leader and Marine Le Pen’s political protégé, will not now be running in the election in the spring of 2027.
