That didn’t take long.
The court kept Marine Le Pen’s embezzlement conviction in place.
But it shortened her ban from holding office.
Within hours, she was back in the race for France’s 2027 presidential election.
That tells you everything about how she sees this moment.
Not as a setback.
As an opening.
Her campaign is already leaning into national resilience, immigration, and the growing instability surrounding Europe.
Iran.
Ukraine.
Energy.
Security.
Those issues are becoming the backdrop for almost every major election on the continent.
The conviction isn’t going away.
It will follow her through the campaign.
But I don’t think that’s the biggest story.
The bigger story is what happens to everyone else.
Le Pen has a way of forcing every election into one question.
Are you with her or against her?
That pressure has united her opponents before.
We’ll see if it works again.
One thing seems clear.
France isn’t just choosing its next president.
The vote could end up becoming another referendum on the direction of Europe itself.
Guardian on launch: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/08/marine-le-pen-launches-france-presidential-campaign-court-decision-ban-electronic-tag
BBC coverage: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7vygl3zymjo