Le Pen conviction politically motivated, party chief claims
April 1, 2025
The leader of France's far-right National Rally (RN) claimed on Tuesday that the embezzlement conviction against presidential candidate Marine Le Pen and other RN officials was politically motivated.
"Everything will be done to prevent us from coming to power," Jordan Bardella told the Cnews television channel and Europe 1 radio station.
Bardella promised a "peaceful" protest over the decision this weekend, blasting the "tyranny" of the judges in the case.
He compared the decision to a recent one in Romania where far-right candidate Calin Georgescu was barred from running for president over alleged Russian election meddling.
However, one of France's top two public prosecutors rejected allegations that the trial was politically motivated.
"Justice is not political, this is not a political decision but a legal one, delivered by three independent, impartial judges," Remy Heitz told radio station RTL on Tuesday.
What happened in Le Pen's case?
Marine Le Pen, longtime figurehead of the French far-right, and 24 others had been accused of misappropriating European Union funds to the tune of €3 million ($3.5 million).
On Monday, they were convicted of fraud for using EU money to pay for party expenses at home but claiming it was being used for the salaries of EU parliamentary assistants.
Le Pen was immediately barred from running for office for five years — for now dashing her 2027 presidential hopes — and four years imprisonment. Two of the four years she must serve under house arrest with an ankle monitor, and the other two are suspended.
In a television interview after the verdict, Le Pen vowed to appeal, saying, "I'm not going to let myself be eliminated like this. I'm going to pursue whatever legal avenues I can."
Appeals court aims to issue ruling in summer 2026
The Paris appeals court said on Tuesday it received three appeals for a ruling on the lower court's decision. The appeals court said in a statement that it should be able to provide a decision by the summer of 2026.
That would mean a ruling would come ahead of the 2027 presidential election, in which Le Pen had intended to run for a fourth time.
Edited by: Zac Crellin