Presidential 2027: Can the Court of Cassation rule on the ineligibility of Marine le Pen before the election?

After her conviction on appeal on July 7, 2026 for embezzlement of public funds during the trial of FN parliamentary assistants, Marine Le Pen announced she would appeal to the Court of Cassation. The court will therefore verify whether the judges correctly applied the law. Contacted, the press service of the High Court adds that “the average judgment times are 8 to 12 months in criminal matters and 14 to 18 months in civil matters”. In a press release published on July 8, the Court of Cassation, however, indicated that it “could be able to deliver its judgment no later than the beginning of April 2027, before the presidential election”. The decision could therefore come less than nine months after the appeal judgment.

The Attorney General at the Court of Cassation, Rémy Heitz, had mentioned a delay of six to eight months. In January, Christophe Soulard, first president of the Court of Cassation, also announced the possibility of a decision before the election, the first round of which is on April 18, 2027: “It is in the good administration of justice, if possible, but I do not know if it will be possible, that the question be settled before the presidential election. »

A decision before April 18, 2027?

In the Bismuth case, Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted on appeal on May 17, 2023, the Court of Cassation rejected his appeal on December 18, 2024, i.e. approximately 19 months later, after a hearing on November 6, 2024. In the Bygmalion case, the conviction on appeal occurred on February 14, 2024 and the rejection of the appeal on November 26, 2025, i.e. more than 21 months later.

However, the timetable remains uncertain for Marine Le Pen. His lawyers have raised priority questions of constitutionality (QPC), which must be examined on December 16. If they are deemed new or serious, they will be transmitted to the Constitutional Council, which will then have three months to make a decision.

For their part, the lawyers of the RN candidate have every interest in the decision being rendered after the election. “The Court of Cassation, in our opinion, has no need to act urgently,” explained Me Sandra Chirac-Kollarik to France Info. The lawyer for the Pas-de-Calais MP believes that the usual time limit, which she estimates “between 12 and 18 months”, should apply to this “complex matter”.

Why is the calendar important to Marine Le Pen?

The time limit for examining the appeal is important for the far-right candidate, because there is debate: can the penalty of ineligibility pronounced at first instance be applied again while awaiting the decision of the Court of Cassation? For Didier Guérin, former senior magistrate of the Court of Cassation, who spoke in Le Monde on October 27, Marine Le Pen would remain ineligible pending the decision of the Court of Cassation. According to him, since the appeal decision is suspended, the sentence pronounced at first instance - and therefore the ineligibility - regains its effects.

Attorney General Rémy Heitz defends another interpretation: according to him, the appeal does not “revive” the immediate execution of the first conviction. According to the prosecutor, Marine Le Pen would therefore be eligible while awaiting the decision of the Court of Cassation. A position however deemed by some to be contrary to the current state of case law.

Social networks get involved

These debates on the effects of the cassation appeal on the provisional execution decided at first instance are exported to social networks. On X, Internet users accuse Le Monde and Didier Guérin, former head of the criminal legislation department, of spreading “fake news”. Users call the judge an “imposter” participating in a “leftist conspiracy.” Accounts suggest that Didier Guérin's reasoning is “bogus” and “ultra-minority”.

The Fake Off Section

Marine Le Pen's lawyers, for their part, contacted the Superior Council of the Judiciary (CSM) regarding the High Magistrate's declarations. Marine Le Pen also published a press release from her lawyers on her social networks.