Lawyers challenge judge's public comments
Le Pen's six lawyers filed the complaint against Didier Guérin with France's Conseil supérieur de la magistrature (CSM) on October 27, 2026. They asked the body to remind him of his ethical obligations, arguing that his comments seriously breached the duty of restraint imposed on honorary magistrates by a December 22, 1958 ordinance.
Guérin, a former president of the criminal chamber of the Cour de cassation, first presented his argument in the October issue of the specialist journal Droit Pénal, then in an interview published by Le Monde on October 27. His former position gives his interpretation weight in the legal debate.
He maintains that Le Pen is currently ineligible to run, even if the Cour de cassation does not decide her case before the election. Le Pen, 58, rejected his analysis on X, accusing him of violating his duty of restraint and advancing a primarily politically motivated argument.
Two rulings at the heart of the dispute
The case concerns allegations that Le Pen and fellow party members misappropriated EU funds. She was accused of systematically directing the salaries of European Parliament assistants toward party work.
In March 2025, the Paris criminal court convicted her of embezzlement of public funds and complicity in embezzlement in the FN/RN parliamentary assistants case. It imposed a four-year prison sentence, including two years to be served that could be carried out under electronic monitoring, a €100,000 fine and a five-year ban on standing for election. The eligibility ban took effect immediately.
The Paris appeals court upheld the conviction on July 7, 2026, but reduced the prison sentence to three years, with two suspended. The remaining year was to be served under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor. It also cut the eligibility ban to 45 months, with 30 suspended. According to RTL, the remaining 15 months had already elapsed, meaning Le Pen could in principle run again.
Le Pen's appeal to the Cour de cassation provisionally suspended the house-arrest sentence. That court examines rulings for legal errors to ensure consistent application of the law.
In 2013, Le Pen had called for lifetime bans on holding elected office for officials convicted of embezzling public funds.
Conflicting interpretations of the eligibility ban
Guérin draws a distinction between the suspended appeals court sentence and the original eligibility ban. In his view, the appeal leaves Le Pen in her previous legal position: the first court's ban remains enforceable because it was ordered to take effect immediately.
Under his interpretation, overturning the appeals court ruling would leave that original ban in place until a new appeal trial was completed. Without such a retrial, Le Pen could in principle remain unable to stand in any election until March 31, 2030. If the Cour de cassation instead upheld the appeals court ruling, she would regain eligibility because the reduced ban had already expired.
Guérin cites Cour de cassation precedents from 1993, 2014 and 2019. Critics point out that the 1993 decision dealt with a suspended sentence involving probation, not an election ban, and some jurists reject applying that reasoning to Le Pen's case.
The issue remains unsettled and involves an untested legal question. In July, Rémy Heitz, the Cour de cassation's prosecutor general, said that an appeal to the court did not revive the first-instance judgment.
Lawyer Louis Boré argues that the Constitutional Council, which adjudicates presidential elections, will have to decide whether the original ban remains enforceable when it considers Le Pen's candidacy. Under that interpretation, the Cour de cassation could resolve her appeal without settling the decisive eligibility question.
Court timetable runs close to the election
The Cour de cassation has pledged to decide the case before the presidential election. On July 8, 2026, it said it could rule by early April 2027 at the latest. The candidate list is due to be established on March 26, with the first round scheduled for April 18.
The court has scheduled an initial hearing on priority constitutionality questions, known as QPCs, for December 16, 2026. Thirteen appeals are expected.
Le Pen has held a wide lead in first-round polling for months, and several surveys suggest she could also win a runoff. Those findings remain of limited significance because the candidate field has not been finalized.
If the Cour de cassation upholds her sentence, Le Pen would have to spend a year under electronic monitoring. Given the procedural deadlines, that is unlikely to begin before the election. If elected president, she would have presidential immunity.
