Updated

Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jul 1

France Sets 2027 Presidential Vote for April 18 and May 2 as Macron Nears Term End

Updated

Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jul 1

France Sets 2027 Presidential Vote for April 18 and May 2 as Macron Nears Term End

Q: Will a court ruling next week decide the National Rally's presidential candidate?

Yes. A French appeal court ruling due next week is expected to determine whether Marine Le Pen can be the National Rally’s candidate in the 2027 presidential election. The key date is July 7, when the court is set to rule on Le Pen’s appeal against her conviction for embezzling European Parliament funds and the accompanying five-year ban from public office. If the court upholds that ban, she would be ineligible to run, and Jordan Bardella, the party’s 30-year-old president and her protégé, would be the likely replacement. If Le Pen wins her appeal or has the ban lifted, she would remain free to seek the presidency and would be the party’s natural candidate, given her long-standing leadership and repeated presidential runs. So while the party has not formally named its nominee, the court decision is widely seen as the decisive factor in settling the choice between Le Pen and Bardella. That matters because the National Rally is expected to be a major contender in the April-May 2027 election, with polls already showing strong support for a far-right candidate in the runoff.

3 articles · Updated · POLITICO Europe · Jul 1

April 18 and May 2 are the dates France has chosen for next year’s presidential election, according to two officials, with a formal announcement expected after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting.
May 13, when Emmanuel Macron’s second term ends, drove the timing because he is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term and only April 11 and April 25 were viable alternatives.
Edouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal and Jean-Luc Mélenchon are among the contenders lining up to succeed Macron in what is shaping up as a crowded race.
National Rally’s candidate could be decisive, but the far-right party is waiting on a court ruling over Marine Le Pen’s appeal of her embezzlement conviction and 5-year ban before choosing between her and Jordan Bardella.