PARIS, France (AP) — A Paris appeals court cleared the way Tuesday for popular far-right leader Marine Le Pen to possibly run for the French presidency next year but said she must wear an electronic bracelet after finding her guilty of embezzling public funds.

Le Pen has previously said that campaigning with a bracelet wouldn’t be possible. But she now has the option of changing her mind, in light of the verdict that her lawyer described as a partial victory.

“It’s a good start,” said the lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut.

The court ruled that Le Pen had led to misuse by her National Rally party of European Parliament funds by paying party staff with money intended for EU parliamentary assistants. She denied any criminal wrongdoing but said the party had made a “mistake.”

The appeals court upheld guilty verdicts for all 11 accused, including Marine Le Pen, other party members, and the party itself. However, it scaled back the punishments for her and her co-accused, handed down by a lower court last year.

Crucially for her presidential ambitions, it reduced her ban on holding elected office. From five years handed down in March 2025, the ban was cut to 45 months, two-thirds of which are suspended. Because Le Pen has already served 15 months of the ban since last year’s first verdict, that potential obstacle to what would be her fourth presidential run is now effectively removed.

The verdict also cut her prison sentence. It was four years, two of which were suspended, last year. Now it’s three years, two of which are suspended.

Still, the remaining........

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