‘The party of white-collar crime’: French MPs react to Le Pen’s conviction

Marine Le Pen’s conviction was a long-awaited decision as it will decide who will be representing the far-right party National rally in the 2027 presidential election. Following the announcement of her sentence, FRANCE 24’s Carys Garland went to the National Assembly to see what MPs from the left, right and centre thought of the decision. She tells us more.

From fringe to mainstream: Is it still taboo to vote National Rally?

The Marine Le Pen verdict is just the latest challenge for her National Rally party and its quest to be seen as a widely accepted, mainstream party. France24’s Solange Mougin dives into the party’s normalisation strategies. From “dédiabolisation,”  to softening anti-semitism rhetoric, to feminism, to necktie wearing, the efforts are working.

‘The party of white-collar crime’: French MPs react to Le Pen’s conviction

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France’s Le Pen says Jordan Bardella will be her prime minister if she becomes president

​French far-right chief Marine Le Pen said she would run alongside her 30-year-old lieutenant, Jordan Bardella, who she hopes will become prime minister if she is elected.

“Bardella and I will very soon be launching this presidential campaign,” she said.

Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right Rassemblement National political party, leaves a car as he arrives with French far-right leader Marine Le Pen at the building of French TV channel TF1 near Paris, France, July 7, 2026. © Stephane Mahe, Reuters

French far-right leader Le Pen says she will run for president in 2027 election

French far-right ​leader Marine ​Le Pen said she would run for president in ​the ‌2027 ⁠election in an interview with ‌broadcaster TF1, ⁠her first public remarks since a French ​appeals court ‌upheld her conviction for misusing EU funds.

Tuesday’s ruling ‌had left the ​door open for Le Pen to run in the ​2027 presidential election ​for the ​fourth time. Le Pen and her ​party have been favoured to lead in the first ⁠of the two rounds of ⁠elections.

France’s Le Pen to appeal to highest court in embezzlement case

 France’s far-right candidate Marine Le Pen will appeal to highest court in embezzlement case.

LE PEN: I WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2027 ELECTION WITHOUT ELECTRONIC BRACELET

LE PEN: LE PEN WILL APPEAL COURT’S DECISION

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen: I was happy the court gave French people freedom to vote

Will she run for president or not? Marine Le Pen speaks after her appeal trial

What are the different options for Marine Le Pen’s future?

Marine Le Pen could run for the presidential election if she chooses to. But she would have to do so wearing an electronic bracelet, which she has previously said she does not want to do. She is set to give an interview on primetime television about her decision. If she doesn’t run, her popular protégé Jordan Bardella is set to replace her. FRANCE 24’s Marc Perelman looks at what can happen.

What to know about the electronic monitor a French court says Marine Le Pen must wear

The electronic monitor that Marine Le Pen now must wear, even if she decides to run for the presidency, is a measure that’s common in France, in part to ease prison overcrowding.

Under French law, electronic home detention requires a person to wear an electronic ankle monitor and prohibits them from leaving their home, or another designated location, except during the hours authorized by the judge.

The designated location and the periods during which the person must remain there are determined by the court or by the judge responsible for the enforcement of sentences.

Such a device makes it difficult to conduct a political campaign, but not impossible.

Following Le Pen’s conviction, a specialized judge will decide in the coming weeks or months how Le Pen’s electronic monitoring will be carried out, including the residence where she must serve the sentence and the hours she will be permitted to leave.

‘The party of white-collar crime’: French MPs react to Le Pen’s conviction

Reporting from the National Assembly, FRANCE 24’s Carys Garland says MPs from the left parties have been quick to respond to the court ruling, calling Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) a “party of white collar crime”.

Le Pen’s decision not just a matter of an electronic bracelet, but ‘moral’ one, centrist MP says

Marine Le Pen’s decision on whether to run for the 2027 presidential race following today’s court decision is a moral one, says Marc Ferracci, a lawmaker from President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance Party.

“What separates Marine Le Pen from running for president is not simply an electronic bracelet; it’s her moral compass and the integrity she demonstrates with regard to her conviction, which is extremely serious,” Ferracci told French TV station LCP.

Court ruling changes ‘nothing’, Mélenchon says

The Paris Court of Appeal ruling has changed “nothing”, says Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party.

“Our goal is to rid the country of the RN and its candidates through the ballot box,” said Mélenchon on X, noting that whether the National Rally picks Marine Le Pen or Jordan Bardella as its candidate in the 2027 presidential race, the LFI goal is to “chase them all out”.



Le Pen would be a ‘delinquent’ running for the presidency, Socialist heavyweight says

Socialist politician Boris Vallaud, head of the centre-left Socialist parliamentary group, has told reporters that Marine Le Pen is a “convicted delinquent” found guilty in her party’s systemic embezzlement of €4.1 million over a decade.

Macron declines to comment on court ruling

President Emmanuel Macron, on a visit to Syria, has declined to comment on the Paris court ruling in the National Rally’s embezzlement case.

“What is healthy for democracy is for the President of the Republic not to comment on court rulings, so I will stick to that protocol—especially while abroad,” he said during a joint press conference with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

Le Pen pitching herself as ‘victim of judicial harassment’ would be ‘political stretch’

Reporting from the Paris Court of Appeal, FRANCE 24’s Catherine Norris Trent provides background and context on a lengthy French judicial investigation dating back to over a decade when Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, was the head of what was then called the National Front party.

Le Pen is expected to publicly respond to the latest court ruling during a primetime TV appearance Tuesday.

“Marine Le Pen is going to be coming out on TV later tonight fighting for her political future,” notes Norris Trent. “Can she turn that [the ruling] into something of a basis for her presidential run, arguing that she is a victim of a judicial harassment? It’s going to be quite a political stretch in order to make that case.”

Reactions to French court ruling on Marine Le Pen

Marine Le Pen’s lawyer and French politicians have been reacting to Tuesday’s verdict and its likely impact on her National Rally (RN) party decision for next year’s presidential election.

Here are some of the reactions:

Rodolphe Bosselut, Le Pen’s lawyer

“We are considering the decision as a whole, we will issue a further statement. We are partially satisfied.”

Marine Tondelier, Greens leader

“Contrary to what the RN has been ‌shouting for years, there is therefore no judicial conspiracy. One could even say that she has benefited from great leniency … In ​a normal world where the RN had even the slightest shred of morality, she would step down from running herself. Because one cannot decently stand for election after having been ​convicted in this way for misappropriating public funds, even if one remains eligible.”

François Ruffin, Left-wing deputy

“The very fact that it even crosses our minds ​that Marine Le Pen might campaign whilst wearing an electronic tag is a sign that corruption is accepted in our country,” ​he told reporters.

Clementine Autain, Left-wing deputy

“Whilst the RN blames immigrants for all society’s ills and dreams of imposing ever-harsher penalties for petty crime, it is fleecing taxpayers… The RN leader has vowed that she will not be able to campaign under these conditions. Will she keep ⁠her word?”