Marine Le Pen is planning her moves amid rapid political developments and political chaos, as she will seek to be a candidate if Emmanuel Macron proceeds with calling elections.

According to Politico, the right-wing politician will attempt to run in the elections by immediately appealing to the country’s highest constitutional authority, demanding a swift ruling on her appeal regarding the candidacy ban imposed on her.

With a very controversial decision Le Pen has been barred from running in elections since March, when she was convicted of embezzlement—an accusation she continues to deny. She has filed an appeal, the hearing date of which will be decided on Monday, with a ruling expected in the summer of 2026. Le Pen’s supporters hope the court will overturn her immediate disqualification, allowing her to run in the 2027 presidential elections.

Rapid developments

However, developments in France are moving quickly, ahead of the confidence vote requested by Prime Minister François Bayrou for his minority government—a vote he is almost certain to lose.

Le Pen has made clear her party’s opposition to the government, due to planned cuts amounting to €43.8 billion. “If the question is: Do we have confidence in this government? The answer is no, we do not,” Le Pen said after her meeting with Bayrou on Tuesday.

Back in July, Le Pen had already stated that she would participate in any new elections despite her legal troubles. A National Rally official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Politico that the party is not considering a replacement.

What she will do if elections are called

According to a Le Pen adviser, if new elections are announced, she will likely file her candidacy in her constituency. Her candidacy is expected to be rejected. She would then have the right to appeal before an administrative court. If that appeal is rejected, she could challenge the ban on constitutional grounds, hoping the case would quickly reach the constitutional court.

However, a source with firsthand knowledge of the court’s workings told Politico that it would take six months for the judges to issue a decision, making her candidacy impossible.

Still, some of Le Pen’s lawyers believe they have found precedents of cases resolved very quickly, according to her adviser, including one in favor of Macron’s political party in May 2017, right after his presidential victory but before the parliamentary elections the following month.

The source familiar with the court’s workings, however, said that the 2017 case “is not entirely comparable” to Le Pen’s situation.