The leader of the French far right Marine Le Pen, on the left, reacts with Jordan Bardella during the national rally of the French far right party near the parliament in Paris on Sunday.
Michel Euler / AP
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Michel Euler / AP
PARIS – Condée guilty of embezzlement of public funds and forbidden to stand in the elections, the far -right politician Marine Le Pen was unleashed in front of a sea of French flags in Paris on Sunday. “For 30 years, I fought against injustice,” she told the crowd. “And I will continue to fight.”
Thousands of supporters gathered in Place Vauban, near the Golden Dome of Les Invalides and the tomb of Napoleon, with regard to a demonstration – but the observers said that he had all the brands of a campaign rally.
The National Rally, Le Pen’s party, organized the event in response to what it calls a verdict for political motivation. But with songs of “Marine President!” And “they will not fly 2027 of us”, the message was clear: it was more than a manifestation. It was a demonstration of a populist challenge targeting French institutions.
Bardella sharpens the attack
At the heart of this accusation was held Jordan Bardella, the 29 -year -old Pen protégé and president of the National Rally. His speech was ardent, accusing the judges of France of trying to silence the opposition.
“On March 29 was a dark day for France,” he said, referring to the date of the Pen’s conviction. “The people must be free to choose their leaders – without interference from political judges.”
Although he said that the party would respect democracy, Bardella denounced the magistrates’ unions and warned against “a system determined to crush dissent”. The supporters wore panels reading the “justice orders” and “stop the judicial dictatorship”. Others wore shirts “I’m marine” (“I am a sailor”) or compared Le Pen to the American president Donald Trump, who was found guilty of civil fraud: “Trump can run – why not Marine?”
“The system is not broken – it is rigged,” said Alice Triquet, a 26 -year -old bartender. “If they can do that to him, what prevents them from coming after anyone who doesn’t think like them?”
A woman raised a scale of justice made by hand, her folded and broken weapons – a symbol of what the supporters of Le Pen consider a judicial system turned against the people.
A nation divided on justice and power
Le Pen was found guilty of using funds from the European Parliament to pay party staff in France – a program that the court described as “a democratic bypass”. She was sentenced to four years in prison, including two under house arrest and two suspended, and prohibited from the public service for five years, with immediate effect. His call is expected next year.
The reaction was strongly divided. While supporters of the National Rally denounce the decision as politically motivated, many outside the party consider it a legitimate responsibility. “I dispute the idea that there is a tsunami to support the PEN on this issue,” said John Goodman, Ph.D., director of the flagship program at the University of Syracuse in France.
He also criticized the unusual pace of the Pen call. “His call was accelerated, so he can be heard in the summer of 2026, long before the presidential election of 2027, and much faster than a typical criminal case,” said Goodman.
Warnings of a “Trumpist Tour”
On the other side of the Seine, hundreds gathered for a counteraction led by leftist parties, warning that the extreme right of France adopts American style authoritarianism.
“It’s bigger than Marine Le Pen,” said Marine Tondelier, Green Party leader. “It is a question of defending the rule of law of persons who think that justice is optional.”
The signs read “no Trumpism in France” and “anti -fascist response”. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal addressed supporters at a meeting of the Renaissance party in the center-right in the suburbs of Paris in Saint-Denis, calling for the moment “a test of the Republic”. Former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe stood by his side.
Although the police are in force, only minor clashes have been reported.
The real message: trust people, not the courts
Beyond the legal battle, the Sunday rally of the national rally revealed a deeper strategy. The party leaders spent the week welcoming judges to have plotted a “judicial coup”. They called the political “execution” sentence. The objective is not only to reverse the decision – it is to convince voters that the legal system itself cannot trust.
It is a page of the Trump game book: paint the courts like biased, the system as broken and supervise any legal reverse as an attack on democracy. The ballot boxes become the only authority that counts.
“The judges carry dresses, but they are only disguised politicians,” said Claude Morel, 68, retired from the southern city of Marseille. “Let people decide.”
What comes then
Le Pen may be forbidden to run – for the moment – but its political machine is far from over. Bardella, long considered his polished sub-study, goes under the spotlight with growing confidence and sharp rhetoric.
“We will be here tomorrow,” he told the crowd. “And we will be stronger.”
The Sunday rally was more than a strength show. It was a test: can the extreme right convince enough French voters that justice is no longer neutral and that they can only return power to the people?
The way this question is answered can shape not only the presidential race of 2027 – but the future of French democracy.
