Marine Le Pen's appeal trial in the Rassemblement national (RN) parliamentary assistants case begins on Tuesday, January 13, in Paris, and will run until February 12. Convicted in the first instance to four years in prison including two firm and five years of immediate ineligibility, the RN leader risks seeing her political future jeopardized ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Jordan Bardella, RN president, reaffirmed his total support for Marine Le Pen on the eve of the hearing.
The Front national (FN, renamed Rassemblement national or RN in 2018) parliamentary assistants case dates back to practices from 2004 to 2016, where assistants paid by the European Parliament carried out political missions in France, amounting to systematic embezzlement of public funds. The first-instance trial took place from September 30, 2024, at the Paris correctional court, culminating in a judgment on March 31, 2025. Marine Le Pen, as RN president and MEP, was found guilty of embezzlement and complicity, sentenced to four years in prison including two firm under electronic bracelet, a 100,000 euro fine, and five years of ineligibility with immediate execution, barring her from voting and running for office.
Thirteen defendants, including Marine Le Pen, Louis Aliot, and Julien Odoul, are appealing. Of the original 25 tried, one was acquitted and 11 did not appeal. The prosecution filed no incidental appeal, narrowing the reexamination. Le Pen's defense aims for acquittal or, at minimum, ineligibility not exceeding two years. “There is only one line of defense, it is to tell the truth. That is my strategy. To tell the truth as I did in the first instance, hoping to be better heard on appeal,” Le Pen stated.
On the eve of the trial, Jordan Bardella presented his New Year's wishes to the press on January 12, reaffirming his “total support” for Marine Le Pen. “She will demonstrate her innocence,” he asserted, adding that a new ineligibility conviction “would be deeply worrying for democracy,” as it would deprive French voters of a candidate who reached the second round twice and leads polls. Bardella, who will not run for president but for prime minister, insists there is “no political difference” between them and that he follows the case closely without attending.
Le Pen has said that if ineligibility is confirmed, she will “obviously not” run in 2027, but she would “if she could be a candidate,” holding onto a “small hope.” The appeal decision is not expected before summer 2026, leaving uncertainty over her political future.
