Le Pen asks Bardella to prepare for 2027 French presidential bid

PARIS: France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen has asked her top lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 29, to prepare for a run in 2027 presidential elections after her fraud conviction, saying in an interview published Wednesday that her portege “may have to take up the torch”.

Le Pen, the long-time standard-bearer of the French far right, suffered a stunning blow in March when a French court convicted her and other party officials over an EU parliament fake jobs scam.

“I have accepted the possibility that I may be unable to run. Jordan has accepted the possibility that he may have to take up the torch,” Le Pen told French weekly Valeurs Actuelles.

EMBEZZLEMENT RULING

The comments were the clearest indication yet from the normally defiant Le Pen that she is preparing for the prospect of being unable to run.

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The ruling, which Le Pen has appealed, banned her from standing for office for five years, which would scupper her ambition of taking part in the 2027 vote.

President Emmanuel Macron cannot stand because of term limits.

The French far-right leader has denounced her conviction as a “political decision” and a “witch hunt”.

Bardella, Le Pen’s protege who replaced her as head of the far-right National Rally (RN) party in 2022 while the three-time presidential candidate became the head of its faction in parliament, is widely seen as her heir apparent.

A Paris appeals court could reach a decision in the embezzlement ruling in summer 2026, which means Le Pen could still run if her conviction is overturned or the sentence amended.

“Until then, I will continue to fight,” Le Pen told the magazine.

“Of course, the situation is not ideal. But what else do you suggest? That I commit suicide before I’m murdered?” she said.

She also said the anger of French voters should not be underestimated if she were barred from running, saying such a scenario could render the elections illegitimate.

“Many French people, regardless of their political convictions, would then understand that the rules of the game have been manipulated,” Le Pen said.

METEORIC RISE

Le Pen had previously played down a potential candidacy for Bardella, saying in April that he would be the party’s candidate “if she were hit by a truck”.

There have been persistent reports of tensions between Le Pen and Bardella as his prominence rises but the duo have always denied this.

The contours of the 2027 presidential election remain largely unclear, with only the centre-right former prime minister Edouard Philippe the main player to clearly state he will stand to replace Macron.

Bardella, who maintains an active social media presence and is a slick media performer, has enjoyed a meteoric rise even if doubts remain about his ability to debate under pressure.

According to a recent poll, 28 per cent of respondents said they would like to spend their vacation with Bardella, while 22 per cent named Le Pen.