Le Pen’s ‘Save Democracy’ rally after guilty verdict falls short of expectations

PARIS — Marine Le Pen’s political future is cloudy for now, but Sunday’s rally in support of her took place under an impeccably sunny spring sky in an upscale neighborhood of central Paris, with temperatures nearing 20 degrees Celsius.

But despite ideal weather, the crowd didn’t show up.

The far-right politician’s supporters were called to gather in the French capital after Le Pen was found guilty last Monday of embezzling funds from the European Parliament and sentenced to an immediate five-year ban from running for office — a decision that dealt a massive blow to her chances of standing in the next presidential election, scheduled for 2027. Her party, the National Rally, and 22 other defendants also were convicted in the case.

During an aggressive speech to the crowd on Sunday, Le Pen again claimed that the verdict was politically motivated and that her fight was for “truth and justice.” Le Pen called the European Union’s anti-fraud unit, OLAF, a “totalitarian organism” and pinned the investigations into her party on the Parliament’s former social democratic president, Martin Schulz.

“The system’s only purpose is to stay in place, no matter the cost,” Le Pen said.

Boasting support from other far-right politicians in Europe, Le Pen said that “in all European countries, national leaders are prosecuted,” pointing to her Italian ally Matteo Salvini. She also said that “uncomfortable candidates are prevented from running,” a reference to Romanian ultrantionalist Călin Georgescu.

According to organizers of Sunday’s rally, some 5,000 to 8,000 people were expected to attend the event, soberly titled “Save Democracy,” with a fleet of 20 buses and nine mini-buses to bring in more supporters. During his speech, National Rally President Jordan Bardella claimed 10,000 people were present.

Yet the Place Vauban, located directly in front of the golden dome of Les Invalides — a monument dedicated to France’s military history and the final resting place of Emperor Napoleon I — was sparsely filled, and the true attendance figure was likely much lower.

Such public gatherings are uncommon for the French far right outside election cycles. National Rally Vice President Sébastien Chenu said Saturday that the Paris event was “not a protest against judges.”

‘Something unsettling’

But for Laurent Jacobelli, a party spokesperson and parliamentarian, the event’s organization was spurred by “a very strong demand from people to voice their doubts about the judgment” in the Le Pen case.

“This is a support for Marine Le Pen and for democracy, because many people experienced this decision as something unsettling,” Jacobelli told POLITICO just ahead of the rally.

During her speech, Le Pen pushed against the accusation that her party was targeting the French court system.

Some 5,000 to 8,000 people were expected to attend the event, soberly titled “Save Democracy,” with a fleet of 20 buses and nine mini-buses to bring in more supporters. | Photo by Victor Goury-Laffont

“It’s time to stop blaming us for criticizing a legal decision. It’s not a legal decision, it’s a political decision,” she said.

The far-right, anti-migration figurehead found an unlikely source of inspiration in Martin Luther King Jr., comparing her battle to his “pacifist struggle for human rights.”

On Sunday, each voting bloc was represented at public events near Paris. Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who now leads the pro-Emmanuel Macron Renaissance Party, held a meeting just outside the city limits.

The event had already been scheduled before Le Pen’s guilty verdict, but it took on new meaning after the announcement that the National Rally would be holding its gathering at the same time. During his event, Attal accused Le Pen of attacking French judges and institutions.

Two of France’s main left-wing political organizations — the French Greens and three-time presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s France Unbowed movement — staged a counterprotest at the Place de la République in Paris to “defend the rule of law.” The left-wing protest appeared to have drawn the largest crowd.

Le Pen and her allies have consistently tried to frame the guilty verdict as antidemocratic, pointing to her strong showing in presidential election polls.

The court’s decision has seemingly not weakened her electoral strength for now: an Elabe poll commissioned after the verdict showed Le Pen winning 32 percent to 36 percent of the vote in the first round of the 2027 presidential election, well ahead of her competitors.

Her argument on democracy, however, has not gained as much traction: the same pollster found that 68 percent of respondents considered it “normal” for ineligibility sentences to take immediate effect, while another survey by Odoxa found that 54 percent believed the ruling demonstrated that “French democracy works well because there is a separation of powers.”