Right-wing leader Le Pen has launched a campaign, meeting with different people in France | Story

The court ruling has allowed Le Pen to campaign despite her conviction, sparking controversy in France.

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen has launched her presidential campaign in western France, the next day the appellate court helped him escape although he confirmed that he was guilty of embezzling European Union funds to pay party workers.

The fun was interrupted on Wednesday when they held hands at a street market in the small town of La Fleche in the Loire Valley. Some scoffed: “Bring back the money!” and “Go to jail!”, while others chanted “Marine President!” – a sign of conflict that may lie ahead.

Le Pen, who at 57 has already run for president three times and is leading next year’s elections, has used the opportunity to try again to become France’s first modern-day right-wing president, hoping voters will ignore her legal problems.

“The goal of our campaign is to bring about the revival of France,” said La Fleche, promising to revive governance, justice, security and education. A few hours earlier, his group launched a campaign page with a picture of him with his arms outstretched, with the words: “For France, Revival.”

Le Pen said La Fleche, a long-left seat that in March elected a 25-year-old mayor from the anti-immigration National Rally (RN), was a sign of the party’s growth. Asked repeatedly about Tuesday’s decision, he became angry and told reporters, “I don’t spend my entire campaign analyzing the law.”

Meanwhile, supporters clamored for selfies, which they readily provided.

“Marine, you are the best!” Said one.

An appeals court ordered Le Pen to wear an electronic ear tag for a year that would have allowed her to return home from the campaign every night. His announcement of a final appeal to France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, had the effect of overturning the law.

The court said on Wednesday that it could rule on Le Pen’s appeal by early April 2027, before the two general elections on April 18 and May 2, but that procedural questions could change the timing. If it approves Tuesday’s ruling early enough for its ruling to take effect, Le Pen could wear an electric sign for the final weeks or days of her campaign.

If Le Pen had been elected president before he ruled, he would not have had to follow through on the decision until his term was over.

The RN had already started preparing for the possibility of Le Pen’s protégé, Jordan Bardella, 30, becoming their leader. Le Pen’s decision to stand down will back Bardella’s ambitions to run immediately for the top job, although Le Pen says that if he goes to the Elysee Palace, he will be her Prime Minister.

Looking curious as she stood next to a flamboyant Le Pen in La Fleche, she said she was very excited to launch her campaign.