The French far-right has announced peaceful demonstrations and other events on Tuesday in support of their leader, Marine Le Pen, who was sentenced to four years in prison for embezzling funds from the European Parliament, in a ruling that also prohibits her from holding public office for five years, thereby preventing her from running in the 2027 presidential elections.
The president of the National Rally party and political successor of Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella, made the announcement about the protests in an interview with Europe 1 radio, where he called for “outrage,” but without any violent acts “which could give political opponents an excuse to attack them,” according to the EFE agency, as reported by Agerpres.
“We are not fascists, we are not racists, we are not far-right. We are reasonable people, patriots, we love our country and we want to fight for the destiny of France and for the everyday lives of the French people,” insisted 29-year-old politician, Jordan Bardella, who is considered the most likely replacement for Marine Le Pen in the upcoming presidential elections
.The latter accused “the system” on Tuesday of launching a “nuclear bomb” against her to eliminate her from the political scene.
“If judges and magistrates decide who can run for elections and who the French can vote for, then we are not in a democracy,” said Marine Le Pen at a meeting with her party’s deputies.”
The system has launched a nuclear bomb” and they did it “clearly because we are close to winning the elections,” therefore the system decided to “take it to the next level,” she added. Marine Le Pen was sentenced on Monday by a court in Paris to a five-year disqualification period with immediate effect and to a four-year imprisonment, of which two will be served, under house arrest with the help of an electronic bracelet. The conviction, which also includes a fine of 100,000 euros, was pronounced in a case of embezzlement of funds from the European Parliament, specifically the hiring of assistants of MEPs who were actually working for the National Rally party. Eight former MEPs from this party were also convicted in the same case. Marine Le Pen has appealed the verdict, so until a final decision is made, the criminal punishment will be suspended, but not the ruling regarding political ineligibility, therefore she will not be able to run in the presidential elections in 2027, unless there is a final verdict that does not include the ban on holding public office.”