French far-right leader Marine Le Pen told Paris supporters on Sunday that he will fight a five-year ban resulting from a conviction of embezzlement.
Talking to the crowd of thousands who chanted her name, Le Pen and her allies opposed the reduced freedom of speech, the judges of bias, and the “system” built to curb their political parties' power. She said this is happening when the country collapses into “doom and chaos.”
“I won't give up,” Le Penn claimed she was a front runner, claiming she was a politically motivated “witch hunt” target to prevent her from competing in France's 2027 presidential election.
“They do this for one reason,” she said. “We're winning.”
Le Pen's beliefs have been criticized by global right-wing figures, including President Trump. Her criticism of French judiciary reiterated his dissatisfaction with American courts.
But she was more ferocious than Trump often doesn't, and the crowd didn't take the course with the unstable rage that promoted the January 6th riot in Washington's Capitol. Her party, The National Rally, has worked for over a decade to replace its radical image with a smooth and quick gabang.
Mr. Le Pen even evoked the spirit of Pastor Martin Luther King Jr. She said, “Not below the law, not below that.”
“In spite of the delusions of our enemies, there is no spirit of instigation between us,” she insists, speaking from the podium decorated with the words “Save democracy.”
Many older supporters waving the French flag, assembled in front of the sparkling golden dome of the invasion where Napoleon's body is buried, said they believe the sentence is heavy and unfair. But few people looked angry, and the demonstration felt like a faster campaign rally than a fierce protest.
“She supports Marin despite her stupid things,” said Jean Louis Vialdot, 74, a retired auto worker. “She should be punished, but the verdict was too harsh.”
Le Pen and 23 other members of the national assembly were convicted of embezzlement last week.
The incident included misuse of her party of 4.4 million euros, or about $4.8 million, in European Parliament funds between 2004 and 2016. She was sentenced to four years in prison. Two of them will be suspended, and two will be served under house arrest and fined 100,000 euros.
She was also forbidden from competing for public office for five years. Le Pen has run for president in each of the last three races, facing President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and 2022. Her party is the only largest in the stronger and more powerful House of Representatives.
Le Pen appealed the verdict, saying the Paris Court of Appeals is expected to reach a decision by the summer of 2026. If the ban is lifted, it will give them plenty of time to prepare for the presidential election.
It is not unprecedented that a French politician convicted of corruption is deemed ineligible, but it is unprecedented except at the presidential frontline. Several of Le Pen's supporters suggested she was unfairly elected.
“Everyone else did the same,” said Antoine Issa, 74, a public works employee who has retired from Le Pen's constituency in northern France. The bus was chartered to supporters travel to protest.
Issa pointed out that she is a member of the French Prime Minister's central party. François Bailloux was found guilty of similar charges, but was accused of far fewer embezzlement. Unlike Le Pen, Beyloo, who is not aware of his playing an important role in embezzlement, is acquitted.
“Why didn't they do the same to Bailou?” Issa said. “Look where he is. He is the prime minister. It's painful to see that.”
Jordan Bardera, 29, Le Pen's Protégé and current party president have been groomed for many years to become prime minister if he wins French presidency. However, the party seemed reluctant to present him as Le Pen's replacement in the 2027 race. On Sunday, he publicly reiterated his loyalty to her as a leader.
“We have a sacred duty to be there and unite behind the Marines and hold tight in the face of the storm,” he told the crowd. “She can count on me.”
Two additional competing political rallies took place on Sunday after the verdict against Le Pen suddenly scrambled the 2027 presidential election.
Initially scheduled for prior to her conviction by Macron's centralist Renaissance party, it was reast by party officials as a way to counter the far-right attacks on the judiciary in full defense of the rule of law. The second is organized around similar goals by the French boring party on the left, The country's green party.
