The far-right politician gathers supporters after being found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds.
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen called her belief a “political decision” and promised to continue after being pleaded guilty to embezzlement and banned from participating in elections, including the 2027 presidential vote.
“I won’t give up,” Le Pen packed her national rally party and supporters flag-waving members, and supporters packed with Parisian vaubans on Sunday with Hotel De Valides’ glittering golden dome in the background.
She also denounced her party of “witch hunting,” a phrase used by US President Donald Trump.
Some left-wing groups and centristic camps performed counterremos at Repbrick, a Paris location against the far right of Paris.
The judge who convicted Le Pen is under threat.
Jordan Bardera, the head of Le Pen’s EU and head of the national rally, told those gathered that the court’s ruling was aimed at “excluding her from the presidential race.”
Bardera said the party “difficult to trust every judge,” but Le Pen’s belief was “a direct attack on democracy and an injury to millions of patriotic Frenchmen.”
Monday’s decision could crush Le Pen’s dream of winning the French presidency in two years, shocking the country’s political establishment.
Le Pen’s appeal
Reported from Paris, Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler said Le Pen hopes that some of the trials will be lifted or shortened for ineligible candidates so that she can run in the next election.
“The Paris Court of Appeals said it could potentially be able to look into her appeal by mid-next year,” Butler said.
“Time will probably allow her to run in 2027,” she added.
Before Sunday’s rally, Le Pen urged his supporters to take inspiration from one of the prominent US supporters of non-violence in the fight for equal rights of Black Americans.
“We follow the example of Martin Luther King, who defended civil rights,” she told members of Italy’s fierce league parties via video links she met in Florence.
At a meeting of President Emmanuel Macron’s Renaissance Party in the outskirts of Paris in northern San Dennis, former Prime Minister Gabriel Atal accused him of “attacking judges and attacking our institutions.”
“We will never disqualify the court’s decision here,” Atal said before former prime ministers François Bailloux and Eduard Philippe, who also hope to run in the 2027 presidential election.
“You stole, I’ll pay,” Atal said.
He also condemned “unprecedented interference” in French issues, apparently pointing to Le Pen’s support from Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban.
Trump’s criticism
The US president called the Le Pen ban “European leftists using laws to silence free speech and censor political opponents” and “witch hunt.”
Le Pen was found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds, partially suspended prison terms and an immediate ban on public office.
Her supporters branded politically motivated support, but Macron argued that French judiciary was “independence.”
Le Pen transformed her party into an electable force, working to remove the legacy of co-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who passed away in January and was frequently accused of racism.
The latest survey by broadcaster BFMTV’s Pollster Elabe, released on Saturday, suggested that she could win up to 36% of the votes.
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