France's Le Pen: pro-institution line was paying off until  judges ended her presidential hopes

Gabriel Stargardter - Reuters - 31/03
Far-right leader Marine Le Pen believed respect for France's cherished institutions would open her path to the presidency, betting it would endear her once-fringe party to mainstream French voters.
  • Le Pen convicted of embezzlement, barred from 2027 presidential race
  • Judges' decision sparks debate on judiciary's role in politics
  • Bardella seen as potential RN candidate despite doubts on experience
  • Presiding judge says no politician is above the law
PARIS, March 31 (Reuters) - Far-right leader Marine Le Pen believed respect for France's cherished institutions would open her path to the presidency, betting it would endear her once-fringe party to mainstream French voters.
She launched the tactic after a resounding 2017 election loss to President Emmanuel Macron and it was working well until it unravelled on Monday, when a Paris court convicted her of embezzlement and barred her from running in the 2027 presidential vote that many believed she could win.

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Le Pen, 56, was convicted of misappropriating European Union funds and given an immediate five-year ban from running for public office that will stand even pending appeals.
Unless she can get her sentence overturned before the 2027 election, her National Rally (RN) party will have to find a new candidate for the next election, most likely 29-year-old party President Jordan Bardella.
"Today, it is not only Marine Le Pen who is being unjustly convicted," Bardella wrote on X. "It is French democracy that is being executed," he added, in criticism echoed by political supporters at home and abroad.
Le Pen's ouster from the 2027 presidential race is likely to fuel a growing global debate over how unelected judges police politicians, and particularly those on the far right.
The presiding judge who handed down Le Pen's ban said no ...
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