PARIS, July 8. /TASS/. Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Rally parliamentary faction, has lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights challenging the national ban on her running for office, the BFMTV television channel reported.
According to the TV channel, Le Pen asks the ECHR to immediately override a Paris court ruling barring her from participating in elections for a term of five years.
"Marine Le Pen asks the ECHR, without prejudice to the current procedures at French courts, to bind France’s authorities to immediately stop implementing the court ban to prevent a serious and irreparable violation of her rights and the rights of electors," BFMTV cited her party’s statement.
On March 31, a Paris court sentenced Le Pen to four years in prison in connection with the parliamentary assistants case. The court also ruled to bar her from holding elected office and participating in elections for five years. Unlike the prison term, this measure took immediate effect and can only be overturned if an appeal succeeds. This ruling disqualifies her from running in the French presidential election in 2027 or participating in parliamentary elections in the event of an early dissolution of the National Assembly (the lower house of parliament). Le Pen slammed the ruling as politically motivated and filed an appeal with a higher court. The appellate review is expected to conclude by summer 2026.