By Marco Hugo Barsotti MHB 
You are listening to a new special of France Today in podcast and on Centrale Milano 1575 kHz.
Appeal Court Ruling
On Tuesday July 7, the Paris appeal court sentenced the Pas‑de‑Calais deputy, Marine Le Pen, to three years in prison, including one year in custody under electronic bracelet, for the affair of the Front National parliamentary assistants. Additionally, the judge imposed forty‑five months of disqualification from elected office, with thirty months of suspension, recognizing that the first fifteen months of disqualification, imposed by the corrective tribunal last year, have already been served as of March 31, 2025. The decision also awarded the party a fine of two million euros, of which one million is conditional, and an additional sanction of one hundred thousand euros against Le Pen herself.
Criminal and political consequences
The three‑year prison sentence includes provisional execution, with the obligation to wear the electronic bracelet for one year. The total fifteen‑month disqualification, already completed, is followed by a residual period of fifteen months of disqualification that will expire in spring 2027. The defense has already announced its intention to appeal to the Court of Cassation, but in the meantime the court emphasized that the freedom of candidacy and the voters’ right of choice constitute “conditions of democratic expression” and have influenced the modulation of the disqualification penalties.
Scenarios for the presidential race
Legally, the president of the Rassemblement National can still run in the 2027 presidential election, unless the Court of Cassation partially overturns the decision. However, Le Pen has stated on several occasions that she would not be able to campaign with the electronic bracelet, leaving open the possibility of ceding the candidacy to the young leader Jordan Bardella, already party president. An official communication could arrive on the evening of July 7, during TF1’s 8 pm broadcast, to clarify whether the RN will present Le Pen, Bardella, or a different strategy in the race for the Élysée Palace.
In the meantime, the RN must manage not only the judicial repercussions but also the impact on its electoral program, with the prospect of a possible leadership change ahead of the right‑wing primaries and the upcoming legislative elections. The situation remains fluid, and the next ruling of the Court of Cassation will determine whether Le Pen’s conviction can truly affect her ambition to return to the top of French politics.
Rachel’s Editorial – The electronic bracelet is not a runway accessory
I now read you my editorial of today.
The Paris court seems to have decided to give democracy an interesting new rule: “if a candidate wears an electronic bracelet, they can still be on stage”. Marine Le Pen, sentenced to fifteen months of outright ineligibility, was nevertheless “almost” deprived of the possibility to launch her campaign. Diabolical? Sure, because the judge tolerated the voters’ freedom of choice but chose to hide the most uncomfortable move from them: an accessory that sounds more like an electronic summer holiday than a symbol of liberty.
And now the question that plagues us all: if words really matter in the RN, then why doesn’t Le Pen, who has proclaimed she would never campaign with that funny prison watch, hand it over immediately to Jordan Bardella? Should she give him the ball, or perhaps the balloon, so she no longer has to wear the metallic sign of her temporary “innocence”? But Bardella, young and ambitious, will he be ready to run on that podium of speeches, or will he stay behind a “wardrobe change” strategy timed for the elections?
The court’s discourse, with its caresses to “freedom of candidacies” and “free vote”, sounds more like a poem from yesterday than a ruling from today. It reads as a poetic excuse to let the politician run, but in reality masks the desire not to permanently exclude the “future head of state”. An elegant way of saying: “we’ll let you in, but only if you don’t put on the leash”.
In conclusion, the RN’s future is painted as an obstacle race with a bracelet that vibrates from time to time. Le Pen might decide to “suspend” the candidacy and make way for Bardella, or perhaps she will do everything to prove that even an “electronic bracelet” cannot stop her charisma. Meanwhile, we, exasperated spectators, wonder whether the real test is not to understand if justice can truly “almost” prevent someone from aspiring to the highest power, or if it is just another media‑power spectacle.
Koan of the day
Monk: Master, if a politician is convicted but can still run, what does it demonstrate about justice?
Master: Justice is a chameleon that changes color depending on who watches it; sometimes it is transparent, other times it reflects a dirty glass.
Monk: And if that politician wears an electronic bracelet, is it a sign of guilt or of freedom?
Master: It is both: it is a golden chain that reminds the world that no freedom is ever without a thread of imprisonment.
This is all for now. From the Paris editorial office I am Rachel Costa: this is Radio Nizza with Centrale Milano 1575 kHz.