According to Réka Csepeli, a researcher at the National Council of Europe, the political consequences of the decision may go far beyond the legal framework of the case. The verdict against Marine Le Pen and several MEPs of the National Rally could bring about a significant turn in French politics, she tells Magyar Nemzet.
Citing a powerful “cordon sanitaire” against the National Rally that has been operating in France for a long time, the goal very well could have been the “political death sentence” of Marine Le Pen, the researcher adds. Claiming that there is a tradition in French political life of trying to make popular right-wing candidates impossible through procedures, Csepeli listed Nicolas Sarkozy, Jacques Chirac, Francois Fillon, and others who have already been convicted.
However, this time, a court ruling has sidelined a political party that mobilized more than 11 million voters.
“It is truly extraordinary that a political group capable of mobilizing such a large voter base can be so clearly condemned,” the expert said. “If this is indeed a four-year sentence, then Marine Le Pen will simply not be able to run in the next national elections, even if an appeal hearing takes place,” she added, saying that there could be constitutional consequences.
Csepeli also says Jordan Bardella, the current chairman of the National Rally, could be the biggest winner of the ruling: “He is the political talent emerging from behind Marine Le Pen, or rather, the future of this party.
Noting Bardella’s success in achieving 11 million votes in the last election, Csepeli said, “The party has been trying for many years to rid itself of the extremist image imposed on it by Jean-Marie Le Pen, and Bardella is a symbol of this modernization.”
The expert commented on a larger issue as well, which adds to the present democratic crisis. Last year, after National Rally won the election with more than 11 million votes, due to the French electoral system, it became only the third largest party in the National Assembly.
“The vast majority of people felt that winning by such a huge margin and only entering the National Assembly as a third party did not reflect the democratic choice of the French people,” she said, adding that several prime ministers have since taken office in France without any of them having real political support.
Csepeli warned that the French may take to the streets in protest if the situation escalates.
Also of importance is the fact that Bardella’s political strategy differs significantly from Marine Le Pen’s. “Jordan Bardella wants to unite right-wing discontent against Macron and the left,” she says, which could attract more moderate voters from the right.
In an interview after her ruling, Le Pen made it clear, she has no intention of disappearing from political life, with this development only driving her harder to fight for her voters.
LE PEN SPEAKS OUT! 
"If this isn't a political decision, I don't know what is!
Do you realize that tonight, millions of French people are outraged, outraged beyond belief, to see that in France, in the land of human rights, judges have put in place practices that were… pic.twitter.com/Zf0M8ilBkM
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) March 31, 2025
