PARIS — Marine Le Pen’s political trajectory appears uncertain following a guilty verdict, yet her rally on Sunday was held under a radiant spring sky in a prestigious central Paris locale, with temperatures soaring to nearly 20 degrees Celsius. Despite the delightful weather, the turnout was disappointing.
The gathering was organized in response to Le Pen being convicted of embezzling European Parliament funds last Monday, which resulted in a five-year ban from holding public office. This ruling significantly hampers her prospects for the upcoming presidential election set for 2027. In addition to Le Pen, her party, the National Rally, along with 22 other defendants, faced convictions in this case.
Le Pen’s defiant rhetoric
In a combative speech delivered to those present, Le Pen reiterated her stance that the court’s verdict was driven by political motivations, asserting that she is engaged in a struggle for “truth and justice.” She vehemently criticized the European Union’s anti-fraud unit, OLAF, labeling it a “totalitarian organism,” and accused the former social democratic president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, of orchestrating the investigations against her party.
“The system’s only purpose is to stay in place, no matter the cost,” Le Pen said.
Le Pen, receiving backing from other far-right leaders across Europe, claimed that “in all European countries, national leaders are prosecuted,” highlighting Italian ally Matteo Salvini’s similar challenges. She further contended that “uncomfortable candidates are prevented from running,” referencing Romanian ultranationalist Călin Georgescu.
Disappointing turnout and political context
Organizers anticipated an attendance of 5,000 to 8,000 individuals for the event, aptly named “Save Democracy.” They arranged for a fleet of 20 buses and nine mini-buses to transport additional supporters. However, during the rally, National Rally President Jordan Bardella claimed there were 10,000 attendees, while the actual crowd size at the Place Vauban, situated in front of the iconic golden dome of Les Invalides, appeared much smaller.
Public demonstrations by the French far-right outside election periods are relatively rare. National Rally Vice President Sébastien Chenu emphasized that this event was “not a protest against judges,” but was rather intended as a show of support for Le Pen.
According to Laurent Jacobelli, a party spokesperson and parliamentarian, the impetus for the rally stemmed from a “very strong demand from people to voice their doubts about the judgment” in Le Pen’s case. He described the assembly as a “support for Marine Le Pen and for democracy,” noting that many perceived the ruling as “something unsettling.”
During her address, Le Pen countered criticisms that her party was undermining the French judicial system, stating, “It’s time to stop blaming us for criticizing a legal decision. It’s not a legal decision, it’s a political decision.” In a surprising turn, she drew inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr., aligning her fight with his “pacifist struggle for human rights.”
Simultaneously, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, now leading the pro-Emmanuel Macron Renaissance Party, held a meeting on the outskirts of Paris, which coincidentally occurred just as Le Pen’s gathering commenced. Attal accused Le Pen of attacking French judges and institutions.
In a show of opposition, two major left-wing political factions, the French Greens and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed movement, organized a counterprotest at the Place de la République, advocating for the defense of the rule of law, and reportedly drew a larger crowd.
Le Pen and her supporters have consistently framed the guilty verdict as an assault on democracy, despite her strong standing in presidential election polls. An Elabe poll conducted post-verdict revealed that Le Pen could secure between 32 to 36 percent of the votes in the first round of the 2027 presidential election, placing her ahead of her rivals.
However, her narrative regarding democracy appears less convincing to the public: the same polling indicated that 68 percent of respondents viewed the immediate effect of ineligibility sentences as “normal,” and another survey by Odoxa found that 54 percent believed the ruling illustrated that “French democracy works well because there is a separation of powers.”