Marine Le Pen's authority over her party is well established. Hers is a full-blown empire, indisputable, but powerless to calm the fears expressed quietly as the judicial ax approaches. On the eve of the Paris Correctional Court's judgment in the case of the Front National (the former name of her party, the Rassemblement National) allegedly having faked European parliamentary assistant jobs, expected on Monday, March 31, her mantras – "the legal battle is part of the political battle"; "fear does not remove the danger"; "I'm not thinking about it at all" – have not tempered the nervousness of the Rassemblement National's (RN) elected representatives.

"A good leader is a stress absorber and a serenity diffuser," said Renaud Labaye, general secretary of the far-right group at the Assemblée Nationale, quoting one of his military academy instructors.

Behind the facade of "serenity" displayed by Le Pen and relayed by the RN's representative on TV, the party is anxiously awaiting the judicial deadline. Since the indictments of November 13, 2024, the threat of a potential ban from seeking public office for Le Pen has raised fears of the worst: the prevention of a fourth presidential candidacy in 2027.

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