Le Pen calls her conviction ‘political decision’, vows not to give up fight

Marine Le Pen vows peaceful fight against ban, draws inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr., as supporters rally in Paris.

France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday (April 6, 2025) vowed not to give up after she was found guilty of embezzlement and banned from taking part in elections, slamming her conviction as a “political decision”.

The bombshell judgement, which could crush Le Pen’s dream of winning the French presidency in 2027, has stunned the country’s political establishment.

“I won’t give up,” Le Pen told members of her National Rally party and supporters, who packed the Place Vauban, with the glittering golden dome of the Hotel National des Invalides, one of the French capital’s best-known landmarks, in the background.

She denounced a “witch hunt” against her party as supporters waved French flags and chanted “Marine! Marine!”

Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s top lieutenant and head of the National Rally party, told the rally that the court ruling was aimed at “eliminating her from the presidential race”.

Bardella, 29, stressed the party did not want to “discredit all judges” but Le Pen’s conviction was “a direct attack on democracy and a wound to millions of patriotic French people”.

The far right sought to mount a show of force after Le Pen, 56, was found guilty Monday of embezzling European Parliament funds and given a partly suspended jail term and an immediate ban on holding public office.