Good morning,
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s legal troubles may threaten her political future, but they also feed the populist narrative she thrives on.
“Je suis Marine!,” Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán posted on his social media, after news broke that Le Pen had been found guilty of misusing funds from the European Parliament, intended for parliamentary staff, for her personal benefit.
Orbán’s comparison to the “Je suis Charlie” slogan — which became a global solidarity message on social media after the deadly terrorist attack at the offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015 — is as absurd as it is cynical.
This is far from a witch hunt, as some would like to portray it; but rather, another chapter in French politics, where corruption scandals and political ineligibility have been going on for years. Take, for example, former president Nikolas Sarkozy, who is currently on trial for corruption, including allegations that his campaign received $5m from then Libyan dictator, Colonel Gaddafi.
In a blow to her presidential ambitions (following unsuccessful attempts in 2012, 2017 and 2022), Le Pen has been barred from running for president in 2027 — a scenario she once called a “political death” that could backfire, as her party gathered about 11 million votes in the 2024 snap elections. The appeal process, expected to trigger a retrial likely in 2026, will keep Rassemblement National (RN) in the spotlight, with Le Pen potentially still able to run if her appeal is successful.
In the past, Le Pen and her father Jean-Marie, the founder of the party, admitted to having borrowed millions from different Russian sources to help finance various political campaigns. But beyond questions over foreign influence, yesterday's court decision for Le Pen, alongside eight former MEPs and 12 assistants, points to systematic corruption over a long period of time, with Libération reporting the discovery of over 40 fake contracts spanning over three legislative terms and worth more than €4.6m.
RN is part of the Patriots for Europe group in the European Parliament and was previously a member of Identity and Democracy (ID) during the period in question. This means RN and its members fall under the oversight of the little-known Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations, which can suspend EU funding or even deregister a party if it violates EU values or fails to uphold transparency — although given its track record and the current political climate, any intervention seems highly unlikely.
– Elena Sánchez Nicolas, editor-in-chief
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