Le Pen joins the fray as France presidential race heats up

The race to succeed French President Emmanuel Macron is set to begin in earnest after far-right chief Marine Le Pen said Tuesday she would run despite an embezzlement conviction, which she vowed to appeal.

Less than a year until the first-round vote in April 2027, here's a recap of known candidates:

- Far right eyes power -

Le Pen announced she would run after an appeals court upheld a conviction over a fake jobs scam at the European Parliament.

Initially sentenced to a five-year ban from public office, Le Pen got that reduced to a 15-month ban, backdated to March 2025 -- paving the way for her to run.

The appeals court also ordered her to wear an electronic ankle tag, which could have hindered her campaign.

But she announced she would appeal the ruling to France's highest court, which would automatically suspend the sentence.

The 57-year-old is set to run for president for a fourth time, after coming third in 2012, then twice making the runoffs against Macron.

Her anti-immigration National Rally (RN) party views next year's contest as its best chance yet to take power, with polls repeatedly suggesting the far right could lead in the first round.

The court's ruling sidelined her lieutenant -- 30-year-old party leader Jordan Bardella -- who has polled well during a period of uncertainty over Le Pen's case.

Le Pen said she would run with Bardella as her prime minister-in-waiting, as she confirmed her candidacy on the evening news hours after the court decision.

"I think this partnership is a winning combination -- a winning ticket, in a way," she said.

- Two centrists -

Two former prime ministers, Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, are hoping to gain the backing of the centrist camp, with Philippe ahead.

Polls and analysts have said 55-year-old Philippe, who headed the government from 2017 to 2020 during Macron's first term and now leads his own Horizons party, could win the presidential election in a runoff against the far right.

Philippe, who is also courting right-wing voters, held his first rally on July 5.

The mayor of Le Havre, Philippe faces allegations of misuse of public funds linked to the allocation of a digital hub contract in the northern port city in 2020, but has said he will run anyway if formally charged.

Concerns have mounted over votes being split between Philippe and Attal, the young, openly gay inheritor of Emmanuel Macron's party and brand of centrism.

Attal, 37, held his first campaign rally on May 30, giving a speech calling for "overcoming old political divides" that recalled Macron's early days.

France's youngest prime minister when he served in 2024, Attal stepped down after Macron dissolved parliament, a move that backfired and ended up with the RN becoming the largest single party in the National Assembly.

Philippe has suggested that by early 2027 the centrist candidate field will have to be whittled down or risk an "absolute nightmare" of a second round between the far right and the hard left.

- Divided left -

The divisive leader of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, Jean-Luc Melenchon, will be running for a fourth time, after coming third in the last elections in 2022.

The 74-year-old dominates the field on the left, according to a June Ifop-Fiducial poll, yet it remains unclear how many left-wing candidates will stand.

Raphael Glucksmann, a 46-year-old member of the European parliament, is also considered a likely candidate but has not yet said he will run.

Glucksmann, the leader of centre-left movement Place Publique, trailed Melenchon in the Ifop-Fiducial poll.

- The traditional right -

The 2027 election is seen as a crossroads for the traditional right, as the Republicans party weighs a move toward the centre or a further rightward shift.

Bruno Retailleau, the hardline leader of the Republicans, announced his presidential candidacy in February, and held his first major rally in Paris on June 20.

He has been painted as a potential spoiler for consolidating support around a single centre-right candidate, though he remains a notch below Philippe and Attal.

During his stint as interior minister from 2024 to 2025, he trumpeted a crackdown on irregular migration and drug trafficking.

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© Agence France-Presse