National Rally president calls for ‘peaceful mobilisation’ after Marine Le Pen convicted of embezzlement – as it happened | France

Jakub Krupa

We are yet to hear directly from Marine Le Pen as she remains locked in talks with her closest allies inside the party headquarters.

As reported earlier, she is expected to appear on live TV later tonight at 8pm Paris time (7pm London time).

But for now, that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, on this blog.

We will bring you the key lines from her interview later in our coverage on Guardian Europe – and in our Europe Live blog tomorrow.

Bardella’s call for ‘peaceful mobilisation’ first glimpse of party’s response to court’s verdict – snap analysis

Jakub Krupa

That is an important public response from Bardella, giving us early insight into how the party intends to respond to today’s verdict.

The plan, unsurprisingly, seems to be to go on the attack: mobilise its supporters and press ahead with the narrative that there is an elite out to get Le Pen and her party and stop her political career – exactly as Angelique said earlier.

It’s worth noting that Bardella could eventually become the National Rally’s candidate in 2027 if Le Pen is ultimately blocked from joining the race. It’s still very early days, but his name is expected to be in the mix – and it surely won’t harm his chances internally if the party faithful see him as a loyal ally, rallying the troops to support Le Pen at a particularly tricky moment for her political career.

The far-right National Rally president Jordan Bardella has just published an online call to action for Marine Le Pen’s supporters, asking them to sign a petition in support of Le Pen and calling for “a peaceful mobilisation” to defend the politician.

In a petition entitled “let’s save democracy, let’s support Marine,” the party said that “like many French people, we share the conviction that a part of the justice system is seeking to triumph where our adversaries have failed.”

“By banning Marine Le Pen from running in the 2027 presidential election, they are attempting to prevent her accession to the Élysée Palace by any means necessary,” the note said.

It added that the immediate clause on the public office ban is “a democratic scandal,” as it claimed that, contrary to the court’s ruling this morning, Le Pen remains “completely innocent.”

“It is not just Marine Le Pen who is being unjustly condemned: it is French democracy that is being executed. It is no longer the government of judges, but the dictatorship of judges, which wishes to prevent the French people from expressing themselves,” the text said.

The party called “for a popular and peaceful mobilisation,” urging supporters to “show those would want to circumvent democracy that the will of the people is stronger!”

“You have always been able to count on Marine Le Pen, on her willingness to defend you, on her patriotism. Today, she is counting on you,” it said.

We have just received these court sketches from Marine Le Pen’s appearance in court this morning to give you an idea of the tension inside that courtroom in Paris.

French prime minister François Bayrou was “troubled” by today’s court decision to ban far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running for public office for five years, a source in his office told Agence France-Presse, but they added that the PM did not want to make “any comment on a court decision.”

These comments were also reported by other French media, including Le Parisien and Le Monde.

US billionaire and Trump aide Elon Musk has also reacted to today’s developments in Paris with a post on his X platform, attacking the court’s decision:

When the radical left can’t win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents. This is their standard playbook throughout the world.

In the meantime, the Socialist Party has reacted to the verdict in Le Pen’s case.

The party “calls on everyone to respect the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law,” and “remains mobilised to defend republican values and transparency in public life,” it said in a statement.

Looking at the scenes outside the National Rally’s party headquarters in Paris, the French media are not losing hope of hearing directly from Le Pen when she leaves the building at some point this afternoon.

If she says anything, I will let you know.

Le Pen’s appeal does not suspend public office ban pending outcome – snap analysis

Jakub Krupa

Le Pen lawyer’s comments are not surprising, as Le Pen was always expected to fiercely challenge the court’s decision.

But it’s worth keeping in mind that while the appeal would suspend the jail sentence and the fine, it would not have an impact on the “ineligibility” ban, which remains in place in the meantime. That’s due to the key part of the decision we waited for earlier, on the “immediacy” of the ban.

The French media say the appeal would be unlikely to be heard before 2026, leaving the far-right with a prolonged period of uncertainty about Le Pen’s ability to run in the 2027 race – and on a back foot as others build up to their campaigns.

Le Pen to appeal against her conviction, her lawyer says

Jakub Krupa

Marine Le Pen’s lawyer, Rodolphe Bosselut, has confirmed the far-right leader will appeal against her conviction for embezzlement of public funds.

“We are going to appeal,” he said, asserting that the verdict was “a blow to democracy.”

Separately, the National Rally’s spokesperson Laurent Jacobelli said that the leader remained “in a fighting mood.”

And let’s bring you some more reactions from French party leaders and from the Kremlin, after bringing you reactions from Maréchal and key European far-right figures in Orbán, Salvini, and Wilders earlier.

Éric Zemmour, president of the far-right Reconquête, or Reconquest party, said:

“It is not for judges to decide who the people must vote for. Whatever our disagreements, Marine Le Pen is legitimate to present herself for the vote.”

Fabien Roussel, national secretary of the French Communist party, said:

“Justice is justice … Ms. Le Pen is a politician who demands firmness on the part of the judiciary! Respect the judicial system then.”

The far-left France Unbowed party said in a statement:

“The facts that have been declared true are particularly serious …

As for the rest, France Unbowed has never expected to use the courts as a way to get rid of the National Rally.

We fight them at the ballot box and in the streets, with the mobilisation of the French people, as we did during the 2024 legislative elections. We will fight again tomorrow in the polls, whoever is their candidate.”

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said:

“More and more European capitals are going down the path of trampling over democratic norms. Of course, we do not want to interfere in France’s internal affairs, we have never done so …

But in general, our observations of European capitals show that they are not at all reluctant to go beyond democracy during the political process.”

‘Political earthquake’ that could serve Le Pen’s victimisation narrative and increase support for the far-right – analysis

Angelique Chrisafis

It is a political earthquake that is almost certain to end Marine Le Pen’s ambitions for the 2027 presidential election and throws her far-right party into chaos just as it was setting its sights on taking power in France.

The conviction of Le Pen and 24 other party members for embezzlement of European parliament funds is a huge blow to a far-right party that has long tried to present itself as the honest, squeaky-clean alternative to old-school politicians with their hands in the till.

“Head high, clean hands” was once a slogan of the far-right, anti-immigration Front National – now renamed the National Rally – to distance itself from what it called greedy traditional politicians’ crooked ways.

Le Pen’s punishment – which she had earlier likened to a “political death sentence” – is all the more personally damaging because she began her political career styling herself as anti-corruption crusader, saying in a TV debate in 2004: “Everyone has taken money from the till except the Front National … The French are sick of seeing politicians embezzling money. It’s scandalous.”

The party president, Jordan Bardella, 29, who is popular but inexperienced, could now become a replacement figure for the presidential race, but nothing is certain. As the party met for crisis talks on Monday, he said French democracy had been “executed” by the “unjust” verdict.

But it is likely that the core of Le Pen’s electorate will rally behind her. The verdict and sentence could even boost political support for the far right. Le Pen was not accused of personally lining her pockets, but of channelling the money to the party. She has routinely called the case a political attack on her, saying judges wanted her “political death”.

The guilty verdict and strong sentence, barring her from running for office with immediate effect, serves her victimisation narrative that there is an elite out to get her and her party and stop her political career.

Senior party figures said, before the verdicts, that convictions could actually increase support for the National Rally in France.

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