The queen of the right-wing is back on the campaign trail in France, pushing her young protege to the side as she retakes control of the National Rally party ahead of the next presidential election.Marine Le Pen, a fixture of the French right that has tried and failed thrice to clinch the Elysee Palace, is preparing for yet another attempt when President Emmanuel Macron steps down in 2027. This time, she’s heading into the campaign season for National Rally with the wind at her back. Despite her recent conviction for misusing European Parliament funds, public opinion polls show she enjoys a massive lead in the polls.An Ifop survey for LCI and Le Figaro found Le Pen had the support of 36% of French voters, with a 17-point gap between her and the Macron-aligned centrist in second place, Edouard Philippe.
FILE – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen delivers her speech during the French far-right party national rally near the parliament in Paris, Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
Another poll from Toluna Harris Interactive for M6 and RTL reported Le Pen between 34% and 36%, with Philippe at 16%.Le Pen announced her intention to run for president immediately following the end of her appeal case at a Paris court, which ultimately sustained her conviction. She was originally found guilty last year of embezzling money intended for European Union parliamentary aides and paying staffers who engaged in political work for her on April 1.The National Rally leader has maintained her innocence while acknowledging the inappropriate use of funds as a logistical mistake. She is already appealing the case even further to the Court of Cassation.There was speculation that her initial conviction could result in an electoral ban that would block her 2027 bid. But the Paris court reduced her ban to 15 months and, considering the time since March 2025 as time served on that penalty, ruled that she is capable of running for president.It did, however, pass a judgment that Le Pen will be required to wear an ankle monitor, something the candidate previously said would be a non-starter for her launching a campaign. But Prosecutor General Marie-Suzanne Le Queau of the Paris Court of Appeal said Wednesday that she will not enforce that requirement, so Le Pen will be free to conduct political activities without a tag.Le Pen is once again presumed innocent until her final appeal is heard by the Court of Cassation, which said it expects to hand down a ruling by April.Her phoenix-like resurgence brings a swift end to the leadership of Jordan Bardella, her protege and long-time political ally, who stepped in to serve as her hand-picked replacement if the conviction denied her a shot at the presidency. Le Pen has been enthusiastic about her return to the helm while celebrating Bardella as her “right-hand man” and their joint campaigning as a “winning duo.”Bardella, a 30-year-old from a working-class background who is widely seen as more moderate than his sensei, has been stoic about being relegated back to second fiddle. He told the press he was “delighted” by Le Pen’s return but experiencing “neither relief nor disappointment” about stepping back as a candidate.The two are now running as prospective president and prime minister in an unofficial joint-ticket campaign that is rather unusual for French politics.Far-right leader Marine Le Pen and Far-right party National Rally president Jordan Bardella answer journalists as they arrive to visit a market in La Fleche, western France Wednesday, July. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
