The French far-right leader says she hasn’t lost all hope of running in next year’s election despite ominous legal clouds.
PARIS — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said Wednesday she wouldn’t run for the presidency if a court sentences her to wear an ankle bracelet — even if her electoral ban is lifted.
Speaking to French broadcaster BFMTV in her first interview since French prosecutors asked a court to uphold the five-year electoral ban she is currently serving, Le Pen again ruled out several scenarios under which she would run for president. Her defiance makes it increasingly unlikely she will run in next year’s election to replace term-limited Emmanuel Macron.
Prosecutors have asked that Le Pen be sentenced to four years in prison (three suspended) and fined €100,000. Shorter sentences in France are often commuted, meaning Le Pen could spend a few months to a year under house arrest wearing an ankle bracelet if the court follows those recommendations.
But Le Pen said she wouldn’t campaign if that were the case.
“You can’t campaign under these conditions,” she said, referring to the ankle bracelet. “Can you campaign without going out in the evening to meet your voters at rallies? That would be another way of preventing me from standing as a candidate.”
“I am not resigned, I am wise. I know that the decision is not up to me,” she added.
Le Pen was found guilty last year of embezzling funds from the European Parliament with her National Rally party; a verdict in her appeals trial is expected July 7. In contrast with her usual combative tone, Le Pen has appeared increasingly defeatist, as her odds of beating the court case seemed to diminish.
Le Pen said the uncertainty over the court’s decision was preventing her party from launching its presidential campaign, even though she currently leads the polls for the first election round. She has already said she would give way to the National Rally’s 29-year-old leader Jordan Bardella, who is also polling strongly, if the court prevents her from mounting a fourth presidential bid.
Le Pen said both she and Bardella would begin preparing for the campaign once France holds municipal elections next month. She added she would remain involved even if she doesn’t run — but won’t seek to tutor or overshadow her young protégé.
After being found guilty at her first trial, Le Pen and her allies — both domestically and abroad — attacked the judges who had delivered the verdict, with Bardella claiming French democracy had been “executed.”
Le Pen toned down her rhetoric during her appeals trial, but said she still doesn’t trust the justice system.
“I said what I thought [after the first trial] … I would like to have trust [in the justice system] … [my trust] can perhaps be restored.”