On Monday, 31 March, a long-awaited hearing took place at the Paris prosecutor’s office, which was to deliver a decision in the case of embezzlement of European funds. The far-right National Rally party allegedly misappropriated up to four million euros through parliamentary assistants. In addition to party vice-president Marine Le Pen, more than twenty others were sentenced on Monday, including her sister Yann Le Pen and the mayor of Perpignan, Louis Aliot.

Marine Le Pen knew what she was doing and was at the centre of practices that were certainly not legal.

The decision, which immediately halts Marine Le Pen’s political activities and requires the politician to wear an electronic tag, is largely unprecedented precisely because of its immediate effect. Le Pen, who left the courtroom prematurely without hearing the judge’s entire closing speech, appeared on the French television station TF1 at eight o’clock on Monday evening. In the interview, she said she was innocent. According to her, the judge made it clear that her decision was political because she wants to prevent millions of French people from electing Marine Le Pen as their new head of state.

“I will not be pushed into a corner so quickly. I assure everyone that, like them, I am in absolute shock and I do not intend to give up,” Le Pen declared. When asked whether party chairman and MEP Jordan Bardella would now be the National Rally’s presidential candidate, she only replied that she highly respects Bardella, but that she is not prepared to talk about any name other than her own. “I expected the judges to want to take revenge on us, but I admit I did not expect them to go so far. Today will go down in our history as the day when the judiciary tried to prevent the favourite for the presidential election from leading the country.”

Orbán writes: “Je suis Marine”

The decision has significantly shaken French political debate, with reactions pouring in from all sides. Prime Minister François Bayrou is reportedly shocked, whilst former President François Hollande believes that the justice system was simply doing its job and the National Rally certainly has no right to cast itself in the role of victim. Marine Le Pen’s far-right friends abroad, such as Viktor Orbán, are expressing their support with the declaration “Je suis Marine”. Jordan Bardella has published a petition in support of his protector and is calling on citizens to protest, non-violently but resolutely.

Marine Le Pen reportedly intends to appeal as soon as possible, but she is convinced that the courts will do everything to ensure that the decision cannot be revoked before the presidential election. The first round is scheduled to take place in May 2027. If she were unable to run, and if she were later acquitted, she could allegedly challenge the legitimacy of the newly elected President of France.

Distrust in democratic institutions

The essence of the matter seems to have disappeared from the debate. The courts did not make up the case, and during the proceedings, a more than 150-page document was presented that clearly proves that Marine Le Pen knew what she was doing and was at the centre of practices that were certainly not legal. For example, the gardener of her recently deceased founding father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was paid as an assistant with European Parliament money. In this way, the party gained a significant source of funding that allowed it to function, educate cadres and establish itself on the political map.

It is not yet clear what further impact the court decision will have on the already quite confusing political landscape of France. There could be a whole range of scenarios. Perhaps Bardella, who in recent months has been mainly presenting his autobiography, which he published when he was not yet thirty, will eventually take over the candidacy. It is also possible that one of the conservative Republicans, perhaps the current Minister of the Interior, Retailleau, will come to the fore. Or Marion Maréchal Le Pen, who is a member of the movement of unsuccessful presidential candidate and former journalist Éric Zemmour, may want to take the leading role of the far right. The sad truth is that a large proportion of French people are currently feeling a growing sense of powerlessness, and this court decision will further increase their distrust of democratic institutions.

Sára Vidímová