Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 6, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleMarine Le Pen vows a peaceful fight against her political ban, drawing inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr. after being convicted of embezzling EU funds.
PARIS (Reuters) - French far-right leader Marine Le Pen said on Sunday she would fight peacefully to overturn her five-year ban from running for office and draw inspiration from the slain American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
A Paris court convicted Le Pen and two dozen National Rally (RN) party members of embezzling EU funds last week and imposed a sentence that will prevent her from standing in France's 2027 presidential election unless she can get the ruling overturned within 18 months.
Her supporters gathered in central Paris on Sunday afternoon for a peaceful protest, which could give an indication of how much popular backing there is for Le Pen's accusations that prosecutors in the case sought her "political death".
"We will follow Martin Luther King as an example," Le Pen said in a video appearance for Italian Matteo Salvini's anti-immigration Lega party, which was holding a meeting in Florence.
"Our fight will be a peaceful fight, a democratic fight. We will follow Martin Luther King, who defended civil rights, as an example."
The court's ruling was a massive blow for Le Pen, 56. The National Rally chief is one of the most prominent figures of the European far right, and a front-runner in polls for France's 2027 election.
An opinion poll by Elabe on Saturday showed Le Pen was still favourite to win the first round of the presidential vote at between 32% and 36%, ahead of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who was polled at between 20.5% and 24%.
"We will use all the tools and legal means to be able to present ourselves in the presidential elections," she said.
Le Pen appealed the decision and the court said it would issue a ruling on the appeals in the summer of 2026.
(Reporting by John Irish and Keith Weir; Editing by Helen Popper)
Marine Le Pen's response to her political ban due to EU funds embezzlement charges.
Le Pen plans a peaceful and democratic fight, inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.
The court convicted Le Pen of embezzling EU funds, banning her from the 2027 election.
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