Far-right politician remains resolute after embezzlement conviction and election ban.

Speaking to a congregation of her National Rally party members and supporters at Paris’s Place Vauban, Le Pen asserted, “I will not give up.” Behind her stood the shimmering golden dome of the Hotel National des Invalides.

She likened the legal action against her to a “witch-hunt,” a term previously used by U.S. President Donald Trump, in an attack on the legitimacy of the judicial process against her party.

For counterbalance, leftist movements and centrist factions organized competing demonstrations in Paris’s Place de République to advocate for justice and to unite opposition against the National Rally.

Judges who delivered the verdict have been the targets of threatening messages.

Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s top aide and the National Rally’s leader, asserted that the court’s decision was aimed at eliminating her from the presidential race. Bardella claimed the ruling was an assault on democracy and a significant blow to the patriotism of millions of French citizens.

Monday’s verdict, which could undermine Le Pen’s aspirations for the French presidency in two years, has shaken France’s political landscape.

Le Pen’s Appeal Efforts

Natacha Butler from Al Jazeera, reporting from Paris, highlighted Le Pen’s hope that the portion of the ruling concerning her ineligibility for candidacy could be overturned or shortened. This could potentially allow her to run in the next election.

According to Butler, Paris’s appeals court has indicated the possibility that it will consider her appeal by mid-next year, which could impact her eligibility to run in elections moving forward.

Before the rally, Le Pen called upon her supporters to draw inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr., a renowned advocate for nonviolence in the fight for equal rights for Black Americans.

In an address to Italy’s hard-right League party via videolink, Le Pen stated, “We will follow the example of Martin Luther King, who defended civil rights.”

At a meeting of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance party, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal denounced the far-right for what he perceived as attacks on France’s judicial system and institutions.

Attal stated that discrediting a court decision would never be the approach of Macron’s party, adding, “You steal, you pay.” He also criticized what he called the “unprecedented interference” in France’s affairs, an apparent reference to international support for Le Pen, including from figures like Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Trump and International Reactions

U.S. President Trump decried Le Pen’s ban as a “witch-hunt” by “European leftists using lawfare to silence free speech and censor their political opponent.”

Le Pen’s conviction for embezzling European Parliament funds resulted in a partially suspended jail term and an immediate ban from holding public office. Her supporters argue the decision is politically motivated, although Macron has defended the independence of France’s judiciary.

Through her efforts, Le Pen has sought to transform her party into a viable electoral force, distancing it from her father Jean-Marie Le Pen’s legacy, who was frequently accused of racism and died in January. Latest polls indicate she could garner up to 36 percent of the vote, as reported by Elabe for broadcaster BFMTV.