Brussels is ready to take its revenge with political and ideological persecution against the fierce critic of the European Union, Marine Le Pen, who had characterized the institution as “the monster that devours everything.”

On Tuesday, the leader of the National Rally will learn, in a Paris appeals court, whether her presidential ambitions for 2027 will come to an end. At the same time, opinion polls show her party as the clear favourite to win the Élysée…

At the heart of the case is an embezzlement charge against Le Pen, stemming from events that began more than a decade ago in the European Parliament, where she served as a Member of the European Parliament.

In 2024, Le Pen and her allies stood trial for “defrauding European taxpayers” by allegedly misappropriating around €4.5 million between 2004 and 2016 through the employment of parliamentary assistants who were allegedly engaged primarily in the party’s domestic political activities rather than carrying out their official duties in the European Parliament – a practice that is, however, known to be relatively common.

Although the co-defendants denied any wrongdoing and argued that the case amounted to a “witch hunt“, the court was unconvinced in light of the prosecution’s alleged evidence.

Le Pen was found guilty and handed a five-year ban from holding public office, a penalty that proved convenient for the rest of France’s political establishment and her political opponents. The ruling effectively removed her from the 2027 presidential race to succeed Emmanuel Macron, despite the fact that she had been leading in most opinion polls.

Le Pen immediately appealed the ruling, prompting an expedited legal process. Her legal team subsequently challenged the original judgment on technical legal grounds, arguing that the ban was disproportionate.

Le Pen’s chances remain limited

Marine Le Pen now appears to have only limited prospects. She has also adopted a less combative tone, saying she will not seek the presidency if the ban is upheld or if she is sentenced to wear an electronic ankle tag.

“It is no longer up to me,” Le Pen said of her presidential ambitions in an interview with television network LCI on Wednesday. “But I will continue to fight. I will continue to be an activist.”

However, National Rally president Jordan Bardella is currently recording even stronger polling numbers. Even if Le Pen is convicted, Europe faces the prospect that the next president of France, the EU‘s second-largest economy, could be a politician seeking to fundamentally weaken the Brussels bureaucratic way of governance.

Brussels goes on the offensive

At the start of the appeal proceedings, Le Pen told the court: “If an offence was committed, then so be it,” but insisted that she had “never felt that I had committed even the slightest wrongdoing”. She maintained that she had acted transparently and had not been given adequate warning about the applicable restrictions.