Why the decision of the Constitutional Council does not have a great implications for the political future of Marine Le Pen – Liberation
The media fortune of the decision of the Constitutional Council n ° 2025-1129 QPC of March 28, 2025 is enough to surprise. The case is indeed complex and should not hold the attention of public opinion. What is it? To know if he is in accordance with the Constitution that the prefect is obliged to declare « immediately » resigning a city councilor sentenced by the criminal judge to a main sentence (imprisonment, fine) accompanied by a complementary sentence (ineligibility). It should also be noted that it does not matter that the conviction is final or not as soon as it is accompanied by a provisional execution.
The priority question of constitutionality does not relate to the provisional execution as such, but on the obligation made to the prefect to give immediate application to the criminal sentence which, without being final, provides for a provisional execution of the forfeiture of the current mandate. The constant jurisprudence of the Council of State did not see any difficulty in the context of administrative litigation, but the high court, however, decided to return the QPC: the provisions of the contested electoral code are not contrary to constitutional rights and freedoms, mainly, in article 6 of the declaration of 1789 and in article 3 of the 1958 Constitution which protect the law of eligibility?
The Constitutional Council showed its usual prudence by reducing the quarrel to the only article L.230 Code
