Marine Le Pen. Photo: Stevens Thomas / ABACA / Abaca Press
The leader of the French far-right party Marine Le Pen has reacted sharply to the court’s decision to ban her from holding elected office for five years, calling it an attempt to exclude her from the presidential race in 2027. In an interview with TF1, she said she had no illusions about the success of the appeal, but assured that she would not allow herself to be “eliminated,” France24 reports.
“I have been removed, but in reality it is a blow to the millions of French people whose votes have been simply erased,” Le Pen said on the day the decision was announced.
The politician assured that her team would file an appeal in the near future. She also expressed outrage that the decision came into force immediately, despite the fact that the country has a presumption of innocence until the end of the trial.
Will there be an alternative candidate?
Journalists asked whether she could be replaced by the young leader of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella. Le Pen evaded a direct answer, calling him “a powerful resource for the movement” but expressed hope that his time had not yet come.
“I have no intention of giving in. There is a way, albeit a narrow one, but there is a way,” she said, rejecting the possibility of a political retreat.
Reaction of world leaders
The decision of the French Themis caused a wave of international responses. In particular, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Italian Vice Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed support for Le Pen.
They were joined by Donald Trump, who compared Le Pen’s situation to his own court cases in the United States. He called her removal a “very serious matter” and stressed the parallels between political persecution in France and America.
“She was banned from running, even though she was the favourite. This is very similar to what is happening here,” Trump said.
