Pen says she will run for French presidency despite conviction

Pen says she will run for French presidency despite conviction reports that Marine Le Pen said she will run for president in next year’s election. She made the remarks late Tuesday to broadcaster TF1, describing herself as a candidate for the presidential election and stating she would appeal a decision. The statement came after a Paris appeals court upheld her conviction for embezzlement of public funds, while reducing her sentence. The appeals court handed Le Pen one year of house arrest under electronic monitoring, with two years suspended, and removed her right to hold public office for 15 months. The ruling said she already served part of the ineligibility imposed after her March 2025 conviction. Le Pen’s National Rally is viewed as a front-runner to reach the presidential runoff next spring, though legal uncertainty remains.