Le Pen performed by supporters of her party, National Unity (RN), gathered in Vauban Square close the Inwalid Palace. The square was not completely filled, but RN Chief Jordan Bardella assured that 10,000 people had arrived at the rally.
Le Pen stated that the judgement of the court — against which she appealed to the higher court — “is not a judicial decision but a political one”. She argued that the court, in convicting her, expressed "disdain" for the regulation of law and democracy. The conviction she spoke about includes a five-year ban on moving for public functions (such punishment frequently falls on charges of embezzlement).
— Justice must not interfere in the way that MEPs exercise their mandate in the service of citizens if there is no individual enrichment or corruption. He cannot elect candidates in elections," said a politician who intends to run in the 2027 presidential election. The judgement of the court complicates these plans.
— We do not competition justice, but we request that these deviations, unworthy of democracy, end said Le Pen. She's convinced that that's what its movement defends the regulation of law and democracy. She spoke of a “peaceful, democratic, folk and patriotic resistance”, listing the function of the leader of the civilian rights movement in the US, Martin Luther King.
The associates are defending Le Pen. ‘No harm’
Le Pen's speech preceded her colleagues' speeches. Vice-President RN Louis Aliot, convicted in the same process, besides found guilty of public fraud, argued that "no public money was embezzled" and that there was no "no harm" to the European Parliament. The process afraid the fictitious hiring of assistants of Euro MPs of the far right.
RN president Jordan Bardella said the decision of the court was “unfair and scandalous”. He reiterated his earlier assessment that the conviction was a "failure" of French democracy. At the same time, he argued that the RN would "never question the separation of the authorities and the independency of the courts" or "express democracy".
Le Pen appealed. The Paris Court of Appeal intends to examine the appeal in the summertime of 2026. The presidential election will be held in the spring of 2027. The leader of the far right ran 3 times in the presidential election: in 2012, 2017 and 2022.
