Could Marine Le Pen’s conviction actually help the far-right win power in France?
Yesterday, the leader of the National Rally was convicted of embezzling funds from the European Union whilst an MEP and banned from standing for political office for five-years.
Unless the conviction is overturned, or her sentence changed, it means Ms Le Pen will not be eligible for the Presidency at the time of the next election.
So what difference will this make to the French far-right’s dream of winning the Élysée Palace in 2027? Could a new candidate suceed where Ms Le Pen has previously failed?
“There’s also the President of the party, Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old,” French journalist Lisa Louis told Newstalk Breakfast.
“When you look at different polls that were done over the past few months, he’s also very popular with French voters.”
Trente ans que je me bats pour vous. Trente ans que je me bats contre l'injustice.
Je continuerai à le faire, et je le ferai jusqu'au bout. pic.twitter.com/IXMAoLqNFQ
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) March 31, 2025
Although Emmanuel Macron won re-election comfortably in 2022, French voters have since swung to the right.
However, with just over two-years before the next election, polls suggest both Ms Le Pen and Mr Bardella could be elected President of the French Republic.
“That makes things quite complicated for the party,” Ms Louis said.
“Jordan Bardella cannot just come out now and say, ‘I’m going to be the candidate in 2027.’
“So, we’ll see to what extent that that might actually cause the problem.”
Ms Le Pen plans to lodge an appeal, which could take a year to hear.
Main image: Marine Le Pen. Picture by: Alamy.com.
