Le Pen fights against conviction, there are no big protests

Le Pen fights against conviction, there are no big protests

The chairwoman of the French National Rally (marginal), Marine Le Pen, has assured its supporters that despite her conviction for embezzlement by the EU fund and the ban to run for a public office, she will not give up. However, there was no large -scale protest on Sunday.

Mobilization of the supporters

The RN had called on its supporters to gather on the Place Vauban in Paris, near the historical Les Invalides in order to “defend freedom, to save democracy and to support marine!” Many demonstrators waved tricolors, while a CNN team was able to count a few thousand participants who demonstrated against Le Pens exclusion from the 2027 election.

le Pens reaction to the conviction

In her speech to the crowd on Sunday, Le Pen emphasized that she saw the judicial decision as politically motivated. "This is not a judicial decision, but a political decision," she said.

counter -demonstrations and political reactions

The protests were accompanied by competing rallies of left -wing parties and groups on the other side of Paris. The organizers, the parties Les Écologistes and La France Insoumise, reported thousands of people who took part in the counter -demonstration. A large banner demanded: "Don't let the extreme rights get away with it!"

lawsuit and punishment for le pen

Le Pen, who was considered a favorite for the presidential election in two years, was convicted by a Paris court on Monday because she had used over 4.5 million euros ($ 4.38 million) from EU funds to pay for the political staff of her party from 2004 to 2016 and incorrectly claimed that they would work as assistants of members of the European Parliament.

sentence and political effects

The court imposed a four-year prison sentence on Le Pen, which was exposed to probation for two years and was born under house arrest, as well as a fine of 100,000 euros ($ 108,000). The presiding judge, Bénédicte de Perthuis, said that Le Pens were a "severe and long -lasting attack on the rules of democratic life in Europe, especially in France".

international support and concern

Le Pen described the verdict in a television interview as a purely “political decision” and claimed that the “legal system had been completely violated.” This politically explosive decision also criticized her right -wing populist allies in Europe and the USA. Former US President Donald Trump came behind the RN boss on Friday, described the court ruling as a "witch hunt" and wrote on Truth: "Free Marine Le Pen."

Appeal and future outlook

Some of Le Pens Rivals also commented on the effects of the judgment. Prime Minister Francois Bayrou said he was "concerned" while the current French Minister of Justice Gérald Darmanin posted on X in November that it would be "deeply shocking" if Le Pen was excluded from elections. Le Pen announced that it would make an appeal against the ban, whereby the Paris Court of Court offered a possible lifebuard by allowed that a decision could be made by June 2026. If she was successful in her calling, she could start again for the presidential election the following year.

Reporting of CNN: Saskya Vandoorne, Pierre Bairin and Todd Symons.