Beneath the glittering golden dome of Les Invalides, Jordan Bardella was quick to pay tribute to one of his heroes, Napoleon, whose tomb lies within the monument’s walls.
But it was to rally support for his embattled mentor, Marine Le Pen, that the National Rally president – and its rising star – had taken to the podium at Place Vauban. Convicted of embezzling European Parliament funding last Monday, and banned from running for public office for five years, Le Pen is continuing to claim her innocence and vowing to fight back. The Court of Appeal has indicated that her appeal will be heard by the summer of 2026, potentially giving her enough time to contest the election, if her conviction is overturned.
Le Pen was greeted by cheers of “Marine présidente” as she told the crowds gathered at Place Vauban that the case against her amounted to nothing more than a “witch hunt”. She may have been disappointed that more of the millions of French people she says were “scandalised” by last week’s verdict didn’t manage to make the journey to Paris. Police say 7,000 people turned out for the protest. The party had been hoping to attract nearly twice that number. To that end, several dozen buses had been organised to transport the faithful to the capital.
Others got there under their own steam.
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“I paid €200 for a taxi just to be here. I came from Normandy,” said Hélène Bernard. “It’s the first time I’ve turned out to support the National Rally. I haven’t always voted for them. But I’m sick of the government. The far right can’t be any worse than what we have now. We are living under a dictatorship.”
Others claimed that politicians down through the years had done worse than Le Pen, but were never pursued by the justice system.
“The law should be the same for everyone,” said Parisien Lucia La Broca. “Marine was hung out to dry. Everyone unites against us. For years, the other parties have been blocking us from power.”
[ Fighting for her political life, Marine Le Pen goes on the offensiveOpens in new window ]
Most of the crowd were hopeful that Le Pen would succeed in having her conviction overturned, but some said they feared she would not have enough time to properly campaign.
“The appeal will come too late,” said Charlene Martel. “Thirteen million people voted for Marine. It is democracy itself that is in danger. Not just in France, but in all of Europe.”
Supporters of the far right argue that the courts should not have deemed Le Pen ineligible to run for the presidency until all of the legal avenues open to her and the party had been exhausted.
“That is what is unjust,” said Elouan Raceneix, from Rennes in Brittany. “The presumption of innocence has not been respected, nor her right to appeal. She is ruled out of running for president even though the appeal has not even been heard.”
That view was echoed by many, including 20-year-old Matheo Mureau from Lyons. “It’s absolutely scandalous to deprive millions of voters of the candidate from the biggest party in the country. You can’t do that in a democracy. I wouldn’t say it’s a conspiracy, but judges, like everybody else, have their own beliefs, their own political convictions. The judge in this case was concerned that there might be public disorder if Marine was allowed to run for president. The best response to that is what you see here today. There is no trouble. We are protesting peacefully. This is the best way to show that the judge was wrong.”
“A handful of people should not be allowed to decide who can run for president,” said Rewan Bourai, who travelled from Brittany to attend the rally. “The justice system has become too political. It’s one thing being convicted, but it’s another to decide that a candidate cannot run for office. We aren’t talking about somebody who has an approval rating of 5 or 6 per cent. She was the favourite to become president.”
Billed by political pundits as the opening salvo in the 2027 presidential election, Sunday’s far-right gathering was one of three that took place in the French capital under an unseasonably blue sky. A counter-protest was organised by left-wing groups, and former prime minister Gabriel Attal also held a separate event for his centrist camp.
