Marine Le Pen has filed an appeal with the French Court of Cassation against her embezzlement conviction, a move that suspends the appellate court's sentence, including the ineligibility penalty. The Court of Cassation is expected to rule by April 2027, before the first round of the presidential election. The appeal allows Le Pen to campaign, but the legal strategy carries risks if the conviction is upheld. The top prosecutor, Rémy Heitz, clarified that the appeal does not revive the stricter first-instance ineligibility sentence, leaving Le Pen eligible to run unless the Constitutional Council rules otherwise. Legal experts debate whether a 1993 precedent could reactivate the first-instance penalty, but most argue it does not.

A petition on the French National Assembly website opposing a proposed law that would create a presumption of lawful firearm use by police has exceeded 500,000 signatures. The law, approved by the lower house, would presume police acted within the law when using their weapons, a presumption rebuttable by evidence. Critics, including left-wing lawmakers and human rights groups, argue it amounts to a 'license to kill' and could hinder investigations into police shootings. The petition's organizers demand a parliamentary debate.

On July 9, 2025, performing arts unions held a protest in Avignon against government budget cuts to culture, with presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La France Insoumise) attending the rally at 17:00 in front of the city hall. The sector demands a moratorium and calls for continued mobilization through the summer, warning of collapse. A Lapas study of 286 companies found an average 37% loss of performance dates and 21% of artists considering quitting within three years. The protest marks a significant mobilization of the cultural sector ahead of the presidential election.

The Franco-German Institute of Saint-Louis (ISL) announced on July 9, 2026, the successful first free-flight test of its electromagnetic railgun at the Baldersheim test site near Mulhouse, Alsace. The test, part of the 'Free-Flight Railgun' project launched two years ago, marks a transition from laboratory to field validation. The railgun is intended for air defense, potentially offering an alternative to kinetic systems and countering hypersonic threats. ISL plans to increase electrical energy to extend free-flight projectile distance up to 1 km. The project builds on prior EU-funded PILUM and THEMA projects and includes cooperation with Japan.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has declared admissible the appeal of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 'Paul Bismuth' wiretapping case. Sarkozy contests the use of wiretapped conversations with his lawyer, arguing they violate legal professional privilege. The ECHR's decision could set a precedent on the right to confidentiality between lawyer and client. Sarkozy was definitively convicted in France in December 2024 for corruption of a magistrate.

The Patriots for Europe group, led by French MEP Jordan Bardella, has been cited in a report for financial and ethical rule violations at the European Parliament. According to Libération, the group may avoid sanctions due to an agreement between right-wing and far-right groups in the parliament.

Background: Senator Francis Szpiner has been under investigation since October 2024 for allegedly allocating a social housing unit in exchange for sexual favors in 2023 while serving as mayor of Paris's 16th arrondissement. His parliamentary immunity was lifted on May 28, 2025. On July 9, 2025, Szpiner was formally charged with passive corruption by the Paris prosecutor's office and placed in custody. The woman involved was charged with active corruption and placed under judicial supervision with a ban on contacting Szpiner. Szpiner denies the allegations through his lawyer. No judicial supervision was ordered for Szpiner because the Senate did not process the immunity waiver request in time.

In June, the French Navy executed a live-fire exercise in which an Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft and a nuclear attack submarine simultaneously launched Exocet anti-ship missiles (SM39 and AM39) against a target at sea. The drill was designed to improve coordination between submarine and naval aviation forces in high-intensity combat scenarios, demonstrating the reliability and performance of the weapon systems.