What will the appeal process against Le Pen achieve?
The appeal trial against Marine Le Pen for embezzlement of EU funds begins in France today. In the first instance, the judges ruled that the presidential candidate of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) is barred from standing for election for five years - including the 2027 presidential election. Commentators discuss what is at stake.
Separation of powers put to the test
France's future is at stake, historian Jérôme Perrier argues in Le Monde:
“The crucial question concerns the rule of law and whether three judges should be allowed to hold the fate of a key presidential candidate - and thus the country's political future - in their hands. Two different logics clash here. The first is that of the rule of law: it states that no one is above the law and that the separation of powers is a fundamental principle for preserving freedoms. ... The other follows a populist logic and assumes that nothing should restrict the will of the people, and that the expression of universal suffrage is a higher principle that cannot be compromised at all. There is no question that the future of our democracy is at stake in this ideological debate.”
This won't stop RN
Even Le Pen's ineligibility to stand would not diminish the success of the far right, Libération concludes:
“Although a conviction would undoubtedly restrict Marine Le Pen's personal freedom to act, the far right is unfortunately still doing well in the polls. This is evident from the success of Plan B - with Bardella, the successor to Jean-Marie Le Pen's heiress. ... If there are political consequences, these will affect the fate of the Le Pen clan, which has been at the forefront of the far right for decades and is now seeing the ground pulled from under its feet, just when the top step of the podium seems so close. ... The judiciary would be merely an instrument of an irony of history that might raise a smile but is not really a cause for celebration, given that the RN - with or without Le Pen - plays such a major role in French politics today.”