What to know about the electronic ankle monitor a French court says Marine Le Pen must wear

By — Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press By — Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press Sylvie Corbet, Associated Press By — Nicolas Vaux-Montagny, Associated Press Nicolas Vaux-Montagny, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-to-know-about-the-electronic-ankle-monitor-a-french-court-says-marine-le-pen-must-wear Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter What to know about the electronic ankle monitor a French court says Marine Le Pen must wear World Jul 7, 2026 6:35 PM EDT PARIS (AP) — Electronic monitors such as one that Marine Le Pen may have to wear when she campaigns to succeed French President Emmanuel Macron in elections next year are a common measure in France, in part to ease prison overcrowding. A Paris appeals court on Tuesday declared the far-right leader guilty of embezzlement and ordered her subjected to electronic monitoring as part of her punishment. READ MORE: 4 things to know about Marine Le Pen's embezzlement sentence and the political impact Still, Le Pen said she'll run for the French presidency next year despite that verdict — something that is possible under French law. She said she doesn't expect to wear an electronic bracelet at all, because she believes France's highest court will ultimately vindicate her on appeal. That court, the Court of Cassation, previously said it would be able to rule before the presidential election, and Le Pen could eventually be forced to wear the monitor during the campaign if her appeal proved unsuccessful. Here's what to know about electronic monitors: French prisons are overcrowded and have struggled with worsening detention conditions, according to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture. Electronic monitors keep from adding to that problem. Under French law, home detention requires a person to wear an electronic ankle monitor or bracelet and prohibits them from leaving their home or another designated location of residence, except during the hours authorized by the judge. The designated location and the periods during which the person must remain there are determined by the court or by the judge responsible for the enforcement of sentences. Such a device makes it difficult to conduct a political campaign but not impossible. If Le Pen's conviction is eventually upheld, a specialized judge will decide how her electronic monitoring will be carried out, the residence where she must serve the sentence and the hours she will be permitted to leave. The law provides that "during the period of sentence adjustment, the convicted person may be eligible for sentence reductions of up to six months per year," and even conditional release, the appeals court stressed in a statement. France will hold the first round of its next presidential election on April 18, and if no candidate secures a majority of the votes, a runoff will take place two weeks later, on May 2. "The appeal