President Emmanuel Macron told members of the government on Wednesday, April 2, that the French judiciary was "independent" and that "judges must be protected," according to an official present at the meeting, who spoke to Agence France-Presse. Speaking after far-right leader Marine Le Pen was banned from running for office as part of an embezzlement conviction, Macron also said that "all litigants have the right to appeal," according to the anonymous participant.
"The law is the same for everyone," government spokeswoman Sophie Primas said after the meeting, also confirming Macron's main message.
Meanwhile, Le Pen's lieutenant and far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party leader, Jordan Bardella, denied any intent to strong-arm the French judiciary with the rally he planned to hold in support of Le Pen. "It's not a power play," Bardella told reporters at the European Parliament, where he also sits as an MEP, when asked about the demonstration to protest the court verdict, planned for Sunday. "On the contrary, it is a very clear and very deep defense of the rule of law and of French democracy," he said. "It is a mobilization not against, but in support of French democracy," Bardella said. "We felt it necessary (...) to speak directly to the French people, through the speeches of our party leaders on Sunday."
On Monday, Le Pen was given a partly suspended jail term and an immediate five-year ban on running for public office, after being convicted over a scheme whereby assistants paid by the EU Parliament were actually working for her party in France. If it stands, the conviction would eliminate Le Pen from the 2027 election, in which current polling suggests she would easily win the first round, with Macron being unable to run in the election because of term limitations. She has vowed to use all possible legal avenues to stand in the election, which would be her fourth attempt at the presidency.
The Paris appeals court said on Tuesday that it would examine Le Pen's case within a time frame that could potentially allow her to run if the conviction is overturned or the sentence changed – something Bardella welcomed as "good news." This could mean that the new trial would be held by early 2026 for a decision to be handed down before the 2027 presidential election.
Much attention has focused on a so-called "Plan B" where Bardella, 29, would take Le Pen's place in the 2027 race. However, Le Pen has said she still wanted to be president with Bardella as prime minister. "There's no question today of considering a Plan B before even taking Plan A to the end," she said. She also said that the 2027 campaign, which would be her fourth, would likely be her last. "Unless I am elected," she added.
Bardella, meanwhile, said the conviction had changed "absolutely nothing" in his relationship with his mentor, saying "if anything, it has perhaps made it even stronger." "I am at her side, and I will remain at her side," he said.