TOURS, France – Far-right politician Marine Le Pen was sentenced on March 31 to four years of imprisonment and five years of ineligibility for embezzling four million euros and filing fictional jobs at the European Parliament.
Le Pen took over her father’s party, the National Front, in 2011. She has been softening the party’s image ever since, coming up with its current name, the National Rally (Rassemblement National), and breaking off with the party’s ultranationalist and radical standpoints.
This strategy has proved to be highly effective, reaching a larger voter base and thrusting the party into the mainstream political landscape. The National Rally is now in a strong position in the polls for the 2027 presidential elections.
Le Pen has heavily disputed the sentence, arguing that its immediate application is a scheme to evict her from the power she is about to seize. “I will use all possible avenues of appeal,” she declared, reaffirming her intention to run. The court has decided to expedite the procedure, planning an appeal trial for the summer of 2026, which is likely to disprove any accusations regarding its integrity.
On April 6, Le Pen and her party organized a demonstration to contest the decision publicly. In her speech, she denounced what she described as an anti-democratic system, a “witch hunt,” and an attack on the people’s right to choose. The event was also a showcase of global support from European politicians, including Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and other prominent figures of the “Patriots for Europe” coalition, the third-largest group in the European Parliament.
Many consider this to be a return to the party’s “old demons.” Gabriel Attal, former Prime Minister and potential candidate for 2027, accuses Le Pen of “Trumpism,” comparing her attitude to President Trump’s defiance of the judiciary branch and populist rhetoric.
Notably, President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have also lent their support to Marine Le Pen. In an interview, J.D. Vance declared: “The Europeans are absolutely, 100% our friends, but that relationship is going to get stressed and tested if they keep on throwing opposition leaders in jail.” Elon Musk has spoken in a similar manner, claiming the “radical left” abused the legal system.
This support, however, is not openly reciprocal and is in line with the RN’s behavior towards the Trump administration. On February 21, the RN’s president Jordan Bardella left the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington after Steve Bannon’s alleged Nazi sign.
Likewise, the party has ignored Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman.
The RN can easily lessen the relevance of her ties with Trump, as there are few of them. However, the RN’s financial ties with Russia and Le Pen’s numerous visits to Moscow before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine have badly damaged the party’s image.
Nevertheless, the party’s future does not seem compromised. In a survey conducted by the ELABE Institute, the two leading figures in voting intentions for the 2027 presidential elections are Marine Le Pen (32% to 36%) and Jordan Bardella (30% to 35%).
The thirty-year-old is a suitable candidate for the party if the appeal trial were to fail. While many disapprove of his young age, Bardella is already playing a decisive role, as demonstrated by his visit to Israel.
Political specialists Stéphane Zumsteeg and Jean-Yves Camus believe that the National Rally should not revert to more radical positions if they want to retain and reassure their hard-earned voter base in this key moment for the 2027 election. In the eyes of many, Donald Trump sparks too much controversy, and the RN would need to distance themselves from him and similar figures to win the presidency, at least for the time being.
Patrick Moutier-Paubel
Patrick Moutier-Paubel is a senior high school student based in Tours, France, with a strong academic focus on geopolitics. His travels across Europe and the United States have fostered a deep and evolving interest in international affairs, particularly in the fields of journalism and diplomacy. Outside the classroom, he is a dedicated martial artist who values discipline, creativity, and personal growth—qualities that inform both his practice on the mat and his approach to life.
