Marine Le Pen in Creutzwald on January 31, 2026, campaigning with Xavier Cerveau, the local mayoral candidate. CYRIL BITTON/DIVERGENCE FOR LE MONDE
Unlike so many powerful people, Marine Le Pen no longer controls the timing. After having delayed, by every possible means, the date of her trial for misappropriation of public funds, it is no longer the courts that are waiting; it is she. On Tuesday, February 3, the prosecutor's closing argument in the trial over her party's fake jobs at the European Parliament could, perhaps, offer the first indication of Le Pen's political future.
But waiting can be treated. Since the start of her appeal trial on January 13, Le Pen has positioned herself as an indispensable figure of the far right, standing alongside her supporters and defending their ideas, and creating a striking contrast with Jordan Bardella, the president of her Rassemblement National (RN) party. On Saturday, January 31, Le Pen was campaigning with the party's municipal election candidates in Moselle, eastern France, while Bardella was attending the 15th and final signing session for his book in a village in central France, before finally turning his attention to the upcoming local elections.
