French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen could see her 40-year political career come to an end on Tuesday if French courts rule that she is guilty of embezzling public funds and ineligible to stand for the presidency in 2027. FRANCE 24 takes a look at how she rose to prominence in France and brought her National Rally party into mainstream politics.
From a young age Marine Le Pen was drawn to politics. Her father Jean-Marie Le Pen was the leader and co-founder of the far-right party the National Front (NF), which she joined as a young adult.
After rising through the ranks to take leadership of the party Jean-Marie Le Pen’s third daughter made progressive gains in three presidential elections, turning the renamed National Rally (NR) into a powerful opposition force in France’s parliament.
As France gears up for the 2027 presidential election Le Pen still has her eyes on the top job, despite a conviction for embezzling European Parliament funds to pay her party’s employees that will rule her out of the race if judges reject her appeal on Tuesday.
Read moreMarine Le Pen appeal verdict: Will the far-right leader be barred from the French presidency?
FRANCE 24 looks back at the key moments in Le Pen’s political career.
1986: Le Pen joins the National Front
Le Pen joined the far-right party, founded by her father 14 years earlier, at age 18. While studying law she also spent time with members of the far-right splinter group Groupe Union Défense, including Frédéric Chatillon, who she remains close with today.
1998: Victory at the ballot box
After standing in Paris in 1993, Le Pen became an elected official for the first time in 1998 as a regional counsellor for Nord-Pas-de-Calais in the north of France. In the same year she became increasingly involved in the NF and supported her father when political rival Bruno Mégret split from the party after criticising Jean-Marie Le Pen’s “extremist” views.
2002: A rising public profile
While her father unleashed a political earthquake by making it to the second round of France’s presidential election (which he ultimately lost to Jaques Chirac) 33-year-old Le Pen made her first national television appearance. After supporting her father’s campaign behind the scenes, she joined a debate on national channel France 3, facing notable opponent Jean-Luc Mélenchon.
2004: a Member of the European Parliament
The NF chose Le Pen as its lead candidate for the Ile-de-France region in the European elections. She went on to serve as an MEP in Europe’s Parliament for nearly 13 years during which, an initial ruling by French courts later found, she participated in a National Front embezzlement scheme by having her parliamentary assistants work for the party rather than for her as an MEP.
2011: Leader of the National Front
Le Pen became the president of the NF, taking over from her father who had led the party since it was founded in 1972. As leader she pledged to make the NF “a big popular party” that would appeal to a wider cross-section of people in France.
2012: A run for the presidency
Le Pen ran her first presidential campaign, pushing for social reforms including investments in public services and a €200 net salary increase for anyone earning less than 1.4 times the minimum wage. She finished third in the first round with 17.90% of the vote.
2015: Ousting her father from the party
As president of the NF Le Pen prioritised softening the party’s far-right image to bring electoral gains, but her progress was hampered by her father’s ongoing presence as an honorary president of the party. After Jean-Marie Le Pen made remarks denying the Holocaust in April 2015, Le Pen expelled him from the party – a decision that she said after his death in 2025 that she “would never forgive herself for”.
2017: A second presidential campaign
Le Pen’s second presidential campaign took her to the second round with 21.3% of the vote – 14 years after her father achieved the same feat – where she faced first-time candidate Emmanuel Macron.
Despite her initial success Le Pen’s run was tarnished by a disastrous performance in the televised debate before the second round and internally her plans for a “Frexit” (that would see France exit the eurozone) were controversial.
Although Le Pen lost out on the presidency with 33.9% of the second round vote, she became an elected MP for the first time representing Pas-de-Calais.
2018: Introducing the National Rally
After losing her presidential campaign Le Pen’s position in the NF was weakened. She regained authority by dropping support for Frexit, refocussing her party’s message on national identity and rebranding the party with a new name: The National Rally.
2022: An election breakthrough
During her third presidential campaign pundits forecast that Le Pen would lose votes to prominent extreme-right candidate Éric Zemmour. Instead, she benefitted by appearing less radical than her rival and secured 23.15% of first round votes and 41.45% in the second round.
Although she once again lost the presidency to Macron, the NR’s growing success in the polls was clear. Later that year a record 89 NR MPs were voted in and Le Pen’s strategic transition from softening the party’s image to normalising it was well under way.
2024: A major force in French parliament
Le Pen handed over the reins of the NR in 2021 to her protégé Jordan Bardella, who was elected party president in 2022. Nonetheless Le Pen remained its symbolic leader and the pair worked in tandem to turn the NR into a major force in French politics. French voters elected 143 members of the party into parliament in 2024 giving it the power to block government policies using the threat of no-confidence votes.
Read moreFrance's 2027 presidential election: Can the far-right National Rally win without Le Pen?
2025: Presidential ambitions hang in the balance
With her party playing a dominant role in French parliament and polls showing Le Pen as clear favourite to win the upcoming presidential election, the leader of the French far-right should be riding high.
But in 2025 the Paris Criminal Court found Le Pen guilty of embezzling public funds from the European Parliament and sentenced her to four years in prison – two of which are to be served without parole, a fine of 100,000 euros – and a five-year ban on holding public office, ruling her out of the 2027 presidential race. Le Pen appealed the verdict and a second ruling from France’s appeals court to see whether the ban will be upheld is expected on July 7.
This article was adapted from French. Click here to read the original.
