“Marine Le Pen Vows to Appeal Conviction Amid Supporters as Protests Remain Sparse

The leader of France’s National Rally (RN) party, Marine Le Pen, told supporters she would not back down after being convicted of misusing European Union (EU) funds and receiving a ban from running for public office. However, mass protests in response to the ruling failed to materialize on Sunday.

The RN urged its supporters to gather at Place Vauban in Paris, near the iconic Les Invalides, to “defend freedom, save democracy, and support Marine!”

Protesters waved French tricolor flags, and a CNN team on the ground reported that only a few thousand demonstrators showed up to protest Le Pen’s exclusion from the 2027 presidential race.

Addressing the crowd, Le Pen reiterated her belief that the ruling was politically driven. “This is not a judicial decision, it’s a political decision,” she declared.

Counter-protests were organized on the other side of Paris by left-wing parties and activist groups. Organizers, including Les Écologistes and France Unbowed, claimed that thousands attended their demonstration, where a massive banner read, “Let’s not let the far right get away with it!”

Le Pen, once the frontrunner for the upcoming 2027 presidential election, was found guilty by a Paris court last Monday of diverting over €4.5 million ($4.38 million) in EU funds to pay party staff between 2004 and 2016—money falsely declared as salaries for assistants to Members of the European Parliament.

The court sentenced her to four years in prison, with two years suspended, to be served under house arrest. She was also fined €100,000 ($108,000).

Presiding judge Bénédicte de Perthuis described Le Pen’s actions as a “serious and lasting attack on democratic norms in both France and Europe.”

In a televised interview on Sunday, Le Pen condemned the court’s decision as purely political and argued that “the rule of law has been completely violated.”

The ruling has cast serious doubt on Le Pen’s presidential ambitions, marking a major setback in her fourth bid for the Élysée Palace. President Emmanuel Macron is constitutionally barred from running for a third consecutive term in 2027.

The verdict sparked outrage among Le Pen’s right-wing allies in Europe and abroad. U.S. President Donald Trump voiced his support for the RN leader on Friday, calling the ruling a “Witch Hunt” and posting on Truth Social, “FREE MARINE LE PEN.”

Even some political rivals expressed unease over the implications of the sentence. Prime Minister François Bayrou said the decision left him “troubled,” while Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin previously remarked on X (formerly Twitter) that barring her from elections would be “profoundly shocking.”

Le Pen confirmed she would appeal the conviction. The Paris Court of Appeal is expected to deliver a verdict by June 2026—potentially allowing her to re-enter the race for the 2027 election if the appeal is successful.

CNN’s Saskya Vandoorne, Pierre Bairin, and Todd Symons contributed to this report.