The anger of Marine Le Pen's supporters and a generous sun were not enough to fill the modest Place Vauban in Paris on Sunday, April 6, for what her far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party envisioned as a show of strength. Six days earlier, a court had sentenced Le Pen to a five-year ban on running in elections, effective immediately even during her appeal, after finding her guilty of embezzling public funds for the benefit of her party and close associates.

How many were there of these incensed citizens, outraged that the sentence likely prevents Le Pen from participating in the 2027 French presidential election? Fewer than at the party's large May 1 rallies in Paris in 1988 or 2002; significantly fewer than at the Trocadéro rally in support of François Fillon, the scandal-hit conservative candidate in the 2017 presidential election, who would soon face a judicial investigation; and not as many as the party had hoped for. It had unofficially expected 8,000 to 10,000 people, but it gathered only about half that number.

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