Hard-right leader Marine Le Pen announced her candidacy in France’s 2027 presidential campaign in typically dramatic fashion on French TV this week.

It came after an appeal court shortened her sentence for misappropriating European Parliament funds that had previously barred her from running. The court reduced the five-year ban on holding office to 45 months with 30 suspended, meaning that the suspension has already been served.

A four-year prison sentence was reduced to two years suspended and one year served outside prison with an electronic bracelet, while imposing a fine of €100,000.

Le Pen also announced that she would initiate another appeal, this time to France’s higher Court of Cassation, and that her sentence would not begin until after this final appeal is heard. Pending this appeal she is free to campaign without the electronic tag.

If Le Pen’s legal troubles had ruled her out of the presidential race, her party had a backup plan in 30-year-old MEP Jordan Bardella.

This will be her fourth run at the presidency. With France moving to the right, has her time finally come? Or will her legal difficulties ultimately mean that the charismatic Bardella will be the National Rally Party’s candidate?

Paris-based Irish Times Europe Correspondent Naomi O’Leary explains who Le Pen is and how her campaign will unfold in the coming months.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Monday, George Gibney (77), former Irish Olympic swimming coach, was found guilty of sexually abusing four girls in the 1970s and 1980s.

After a two-week trial, the jury found him guilty of 39 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape of children. He will be sentenced at the end of the month.

One of Ireland’s most notorious paedophiles, he was extradited from Florida last year where he had escaped justice for decades.

Due to reporting restrictions he was referred to as “sports coach” but as soon as the guilty verdict was announced, he could be named.

So why did he plead guilty to five of the charges? What defence was put forward? What has his demeanour in court? And what does this guilty verdict mean after so long for the victims.

Court reporter Isabel Hayes explains how the case unfolded in court and Gibney’s reaction to the verdict.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was originally published in March 2026.

Clifton Collins (55) had a thriving business growing cannabis in rented houses around the country.

The Crumlin man and expert beekeeper was known for his award-winning honey but his real earner was the fortune he made from years of dealing drugs.

He operated under the radar so when gardaí came across him parked in the Wicklow Mountains one night, they had no idea their search would eventually result in of the most lucrative seizures in the history of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

Collins had amassed 6,000 bitcoin around 2010. The problem for the Garda was they didn’t know the code to unlock the wallets; it was, Collins said, lost.

His bitcoin stash had by 2026 rocketed in value to €360 million.

Seven years after gardaí seized the wallets they have finally been able to open one of them and have released €30 million. There are 11 more wallets to be opened.

Irish Times crime and security editor Conor Lally explains the background to this extraordinary case.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.