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Agence France-Presse

France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday vowed to pursue her presidential ambitions after she was found guilty of embezzlement and banned from standing for office, saying her party is the target of a “witch hunt”.
Polls have made the National Rally (RN) party figurehead the front runner ahead of a presidential election in two years and the court sentence has stunned France’s political establishment.
Le Pen spoke at one rally in central Paris six days after a court in the French capital found her and other RN officials guilty of embezzling European parliament funds to use them for domestic political duties.
Her opponents backed the court’s decision at rival events on Sunday. “If you steal, you pay,” former prime minister Gabriel Attal told his supporters.
Le Pen, 56, was given a four-year prison term, with two years suspended, and banned from public office for five years.
“I won’t give up,” Le Pen told followers gathered in a Paris square with the golden dome of the Hotel National des Invalides in the background.
She denounced a “witch hunt” against the RN as supporters waved French flags and chanted “Marine! Marine!”.

Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s deputy and RN chief, said there were 10,000 people at the rally. But the square was not full.
Bardella, 29, said the court ruling was aimed at “eliminating” Le Pen from the presidential race.
He said the party did not want to “discredit all judges” but the conviction was “a direct attack on democracy and a wound to millions of patriotic French people”.
Amid the divisive debate over the sentence, the judges who convicted Le Pen have received death threats.
US President Donald Trump also called the sentence a “witch hunt” by “European leftists using lawfare to silence free speech”.
President Emmanuel Macron has insisted however the French judiciary is “independent”.
Left-wing and centrist parties staged counter gatherings against the far-right.
At a meeting of Macron’s Renaissance party in a Paris suburb, Attal accused the far-right of “attacking our judges, attacking our institutions”.
Attal denounced “unprecedented interference” in French affairs, pointing to support for Le Pen from the likes of Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Another left-wing gathering in Paris against the far-right drew about 3,000 people, according to police.
“The far-right is a dangerous party, dangerous for democracy and dangerous for the rule of law,” France Unbowed (LFI) coordinator Manuel Bompard told the event.
Ahead of Sunday’s rally, Le Pen urged supporters to take inspiration from the non violent campaign in the United States for equal rights for black Americans.
“We will follow the example of Martin Luther King, who defended civil rights,” she told members of Italy’s hard-right League party, who were meeting in Florence, via video-link.
Le Pen has also compared herself with Alexei Navalny, Russia’s late opposition leader who died in an Arctic prison last year after being jailed under President Vladimir Putin.

Le Pen has worked to turn the RN into an electable force and rid it of the legacy of her father, its co-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died in January and was frequently accused of racism.
The latest survey by pollster Elabe for broadcaster BFMTV, released on Saturday, showed her with up to 36 per cent of the vote.
But now Le Pen risks seeing years of progress undone, observers say.
Analysts say Le Pen will be forced to play the victim card to retain the support of her voters.
The RN is the largest single party in parliament and could complicate life for Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who does not have a majority in the lower house.
The Paris Court of Appeal said it would examine Le Pen’s case in time for her to contest the 2027 election if her conviction is overturned or changed.


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France

France’s Le Pen slams ‘witch hunt’ as ban dominates rival rallies

Far-right Rassemblement National (RN) leader Marine Le Pen delivers a speech during a rally in her support one week after being convicted, in Paris, France on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

 Jordan Bardella, National Rally President and Member of European Parliament. Photo: AFP

People gather to protest against the Rassemblement National after leader Le Pen’s conviction, at Republique square in Paris, France on Sunday. Photo: EPA-EFE

A protester holds flags during a rally supporting Le Pen in Paris, France on Sunday. Photo: AFP / dpa

France’s Le Pen sentenced to 4 years, barred from office after embezzlement conviction

President of Rassemblement National parliamentary group Marine Le Pen looks on during a session of questions to the government at the National Assembly in Paris on January 22, 2025. Photo: AFP

A French court on Monday convicted far-right leader Marine Le Pen on charges of embezzlement of public funds. Photo: AFP

President of the National Rally parliamentary group, Marine Le Pen (left) arrives at the Paris courthouse on March 31. Photo: EPA-EFE

France’s Macron urges firms to halt US investments in ‘collective solidarity’

France’s President Emmanuel Macron arrives for a meeting with representatives of the sectors affected by US tariffs, at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Musk and European far-right leaders rally behind Marine Le Pen after court verdict

Elon Musk, is rallying behind Marine Le Pen after a court banned her from running for office over expenses misuse.  Photo: Reuters

President of the parliamentary group of the French far-right Rassemblement National party, Marine Le Pen arrives at the Paris courthouse for her trial verdict on suspicion of embezzlement of European public funds, in Paris, on March 31. Photo: AFP

Elon Musk is rallying behind Marine Le Pen after a court banned her from running for office over expenses misuse. Photo

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban posted on social media in support of Le Pen. Photo: Reuters

Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini said “We will not be intimidated, we will not stop: Full steam ahead my friend!”, after Le Pen’s verdict. Photo: dpa

France’s Le Pen fights to keep presidency hopes alive after 5-year election ban

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen during a televised interview on Monday. Photo: AFP 

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Photo: AFP

Marine Le Pen after a French court sentenced her to a five-year ban on running for office. Photo: AFP

A sketch of court proceedings on Monday. Illustration: Benoit Peyrucq via AFP

Marine Le Pen has said 29-year-old RN party leader Jordan Bardella has the ‘capacity’ to be president. Photo: AFP

France’s Macron says not all European allies agree on troops for Ukraine

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of drone strikes on a residential area in Kharkiv on Wednesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Macron said France and Britain, which are driving the initiative, would forge ahead with a “reassurance force” with several countries. Photo: EPA-EFE

A residential building hit by a Russian drone strike in Dnipro, Ukraine on Thursday Photo: Reuters

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (middle) and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (right) at the UK ambassador’s residence following the Ukraine summit in Paris on March 27, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ukrainian rescuers work at the site of drone strikes on a residential area in Kharkiv on March 26, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE

News

World

Europe

Le Pen spoke at rally in Paris days after court found her and other National Rally officials guilty of embezzling European parliament funds


Le Pen spoke at rally in Paris days after court found her and other National Rally officials guilty of embezzling European parliament funds.


Emmanuel Macron

European Union

Protests around the world