Marine Le Pen, the chief of the French extreme right, told the applauding supporters of Paris on Sunday that she would fight against the five-year ban on her candidacy, which results from a condemnation for diversion, launching as an outsider representing those who are “disdained” by the political elite.
Addressing a crowd of several thousand people who sang her name, Ms. Le Pen and her allies reprimanded themselves against what they called freedom of expression, biases and a “system” built to keep their party out of power. This happens, she said, while the country disintegrates in “ruin and chaos”.
“I will not give up,” said Ms. Le Pen, arguing that she was the target of a “witch hunt” motivated by a political motivation to prevent her from participating in the presidential election of France in 2027, in which she was the front of her head.
“They do this for a single reason,” she said. “We win.”
The conviction of Ms. Le Pen was criticized by global right -wing figures, including President Trump. His criticisms of the judiciary of France echoed his grievances against the American courts.
But it was less ardent than Mr. Trump, and the crowd did not rank with the volatile anger which fueled the riots of January 6 at the Capitole in Washington. His party, the national rally, has spent more than a decade working to replace its radical image with a fluid image and ready to govern.
Ms. Le Pen even invoked the spirit of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while she urged “peaceful and democratic resistance” against legal action against her. She said she was not “above the law, but not below” either.
“Despite the delusions of our opponents, there is no spirit of sedition among us,” she insisted, speaking of a podium sporting the words “except democracy”.
Gathered in front of the gilded dome sparkling of the Invalides, under which the remains of Napoleon are buried, many older supporters waving the French flags said that they thought that the penalty was heavy and unfair. But little bubbed with fury, and the demonstration looked more like an early campaign rally than an animated event.
“I support Marine, even if she did something stupid,” said Jean-Louis Viardot, 74, a retired worker. “It should be punished, but the conviction was too severe.”
Ms. Le Pen and 23 other people affiliated to the National Rally Party, were sentenced last week for embezzlement.
The case involved an abusive use of more than 4.4 million euros, or around $ 4.8 million, in the European Parliament funds between 2004 and 2016. It was sentenced to four years in prison – two of them were suspended, two must be signified in a residual form – and a fine of € 100,000.
She was also prevented from competing with the public service for five years. Ms. Le Pen presented herself to the presidency during each of the last three races, reaching the second round against President Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and 2022. His party is the largest in the room in the lower and more powerful parliament.
Ms. Le Pen called on the verdict and the Paris Court of Appeal said that she expected to make a decision by the summer of 2026. If the ban was lifted, this would give her enough time to prepare for the presidential campaign.
It is not unknown for French politicians recognized as guilty of corruption to be deemed ineligible, but unless a presidential leader is unprecedented. Some supporters of Mrs. Le Pen suggested that she was unjustly distinguished.
“Everyone has done the same thing,” said Antoine Issa, 74, a retired public works employee of Ms. Le Pen in the north of France. Buses were chartered so that the supporters go to the demonstration.
Ms. Issa stressed that the members of the centrist party of the French Prime Minister, François Bayrou, had been found guilty for similar accusations, although she is accused of diverting much less. Mr. Bayrou, who, unlike Mrs. Le Pen, did not play a key role in diversion, was acquitted.
“Why didn’t they do the same against Bayrou?” Mr. Issa said. “Look where he is. He’s the Prime Minister. It’s painful to see this.”
Jordan Bardella, 29, the protégé of Ms. Le Pen and the current party president, was treated for years to be Prime Minister if she won the presidency of France. But the party seemed reluctant to present it to replace Ms. Le Pen in the 2027 race. On Sunday, it publicly reiterated its loyalty to it as a leader.
“We have a sacred duty to be there, to remain united behind Marine, to stand firm in front of the storms,” he told the crowd. “She can count on me.”
Two additional competing political rallies took place on Sunday, after the verdict against Ms. Le Pen suddenly scrambled the presidential race of 2027.
The first, by the Macron centrist Renaissance party, had been planned before his conviction, but was overhauled by party officials as a means of countering the far -right attacks against the judiciary with a defense fully on the throat of the rule of law. The second was organized around a similar objective by the non -co -feast of France on the left and the country’s green party.
