Thousands protest against Le Pens voting ban

Several thousand supporters of the French right -wing populist Marine Le Pen gathered in Paris to protest a rally to protest against a judicial ban on their election participation. Le Pen performed as the main speaker at the rally and described the judgment as an attack on the will of the people. This is an essential struggle for the truth, she said. They had their honor with feet. « I won’t give up. »

The event took place near the Hôtel des Invalide. The space was not completely filled. Le Pen Party had called breed emblems nationally (marginal), which had expected up to 10,000 participants.

The background is a court decision on Monday, according to which Le Pen, leading party members and the RN for embezzlement of EU funds. Particularly controversial: Le Pen must not run for elections for five years – a punishment that came into force immediately.

Counter -protests – 15,000 people for the rule of law

In parallel to the RN rally, two counter-protests took place several kilometers away in Paris. According to the organizers, around 15,000 people gathered on the Place de la République. The Left Party La France Insoumise and the Greens had called for the protest.

The participants warned of the strengthening of the extreme right and called on to defend the rule of law. The party of President Emmanuel Macron also used a long-planned meeting in Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris as a political platform against the RN. Party leader Gabriel Attal accused the RN with the campaign to attack the judges and France’s institutions.

Le Pen appealed against the verdict, but fears that the procedure could take too long to compete in the 2027 presidential election. The Court of Appeal announced that it will decide by summer 2026 at the latest.