PARIS
French far-right chief blasts ban as effort to block party
President of Rassemblement National parliamentary group Marine Le Pen (L) speaks to French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) RN party's President and lead MEP Jordan Bardella during the French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) RN party's parliamentary seminar at the French National Assembly in Paris on September 14, 2024.
French far-right leader Jordan Bardella on Tuesday accused authorities of aiming to prevent his National Rally (RN) party from taking power after figurehead Marine Le Pen was hit with an election ban.
Le Pen has pledged to fight the court-imposed prohibition that appeared to exclude her goal of seeking and potentially winning the French presidency in 2027.
"Everything will be done to prevent us from coming to power," Bardella said in an interview on the Cnews television channel and Europe 1 radio station.
Le Pen was on March 31 convicted of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament, taking advantage of expenses to employ assistants who were actually working for her party in France.
Le Pen was barred from running for office for five years and given a four-year prison sentence, although she will not go to jail as half of it was suspended and the rest will be served with an electronic tag.
Twenty-four people, including Le Pen, were convicted, all of them RN party officials or assistants.
The RN leader said a "peaceful" protest would be held this weekend.
He blasted the "tyranny of the judges" but also condemned "the threats, abuse and insults" directed at them.
One of France's top two public prosecutors denied that there was a political element to March 31's decision.
"Justice is not political, this is not a political decision but a legal one, delivered by three independent, impartial judges," Remy Heitz told RTL radio station.
He also hit out at the "inadmissible... very personal attacks against the judges and the threats that could lead to criminal prosecutions."
far right,