A French appeals court has upheld Marine Le Pen's conviction for embezzling more than £1 million from the European Parliament through a fake jobs scam, and ordered her to wear an electronic ankle tag for one year. The ruling matters because it casts serious doubt on the National Rally veteran's ability to run in next year's presidential election, a contest for which she had been a leading favourite to succeed Emmanuel Macron.

The 57-year-old was handed a three-year prison term, with two years suspended, meaning fifteen months are effective, to be served with the tag, alongside a fine equivalent to around £85,000. Crucially, she was also barred from seeking public office for 45 months, a period covering the upcoming election. Le Pen has said she will not campaign wearing a tag, and her presidential candidacy is now expected to pass to Jordan Bardella, the party's 30-year-old president.