Marine Le Pen was cleared by appeal judges to enter the 2027 French presidential race if she drops a vow never to stand for office wearing an electronic bracelet.

Le Pen was handed a significant reprieve on an election ban but also given a one-year jail term and told by the Paris court of appeal that she likely must wear the device for a portion of that time. The politician has previously said she might withdraw from contention if forced to wear one while campaigning.

Another judge will now decide how long Le Pen would have to wear a tag, and Le Pen can ask for that duration to be shortened too. The decision now rests with Le Pen as to her future — she left the court without commenting to the press and is scheduled to speak in a television interview at 8 p.m. local time.

Le Pen’s lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, said after the verdict they they welcomed the “considerable” reduction in terms of the election ban. But he added that the team needs time to digest the ruling before deciding how to respond.

“We are now considering the whole decision, we will think about it this afternoon and communicate later on the possible next steps,” Bosselut said.

Overall, Presiding Judge Michèle Agi confirmed on Tuesday’s Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction, saying that she and several others at the National Rally party misused European Union funds earmarked to pay for aides. But the judges reduced her ban to 15 months — time she has already served — thus paving the way for her to lead her party into the next election.

“The court found that the enforcement of this penalty since March 31, 2025, has already remedied the breach of integrity to an extent compatible with the fundamental guarantees afforded to citizens, and that disregarding this would undermine the principle of freedom of candidacy, an essential condition for the democratic exercise of universal suffrage,” Judge Agi said in court.

Given its significance, Tuesday’s outcome may mark the unofficial start of a nine-month race to replace Emmanuel Macron.

Jordan Bardella is ready — if needed — to take her spot as the lead candidate for the National Rally. The 30-year-old would offer voters a somewhat different profile to Le Pen who has gained ground among voters in three successive presidential campaigns. A recent poll suggested that either would lead the French election after a first round vote.

Le Pen was initially convicted in March 2025 by first-instance judges, who gave her an election ban lasting five years and a two-year jail term that’s on hold while she appeals. Her party was quick to react, with Bardella quipping on TV against what he described as the “tyranny of judges.”

Le Pen tried to strike a more conciliatory tone in her appeal than during her first trial. She told judges in testimony earlier this year that if any offense was committed, she and her party members had “no sense” that they were crossing any red line. Still, she “formally” contested being at the heart of a system to embezzle the funds.

Le Pen is alleged to have misused about €474,000 ($541,810) between 2009 and 2016, when she was a member of the European Parliament, to hire aides. She was also accused of encouraging other lawmakers from her party to divert millions more euros in order to lower the National Rally’s financial burden.

At the heart of the case is the question of whether aides were hired through “fake” contracts and worked to further the far-right party’s domestic agenda rather than focusing on European matters, as contractually required. During the first trial, a total of 25 people as well as the party were convicted. Not everyone appealed.

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—With assistance from Marie Patino.

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