FRANCE PERSPECTIVE

Paris, July 6, 2026. On the eve of the Paris Court of Appeal ruling in the European Parliament assistants funds case involving the National Rally, Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella staged a rustic banquet in Lievin, Pas-de-Calais, to display their unity. On Saturday, July 4, before a modest but energized crowd of supporters, the National Rally president restated to his mentor "my total support, my complete friendship," adding he hoped to "see her elected President of the Republic in a few months," according to BFMTV. Marine Le Pen replied that she would support him "every day," "with energy, confidence and conviction," should he become the party's candidate, promising in return to make him Prime Minister in the event of her victory. The Court of Appeal is set to rule on Tuesday, July 7, on the eligibility of the Pas-de-Calais deputy for the 2027 presidential election in the case of embezzlement of European funds that led to her conviction to five years of ineligibility in 2025. Three scenarios are outlined by France 24: an acquittal deemed "highly unlikely," a reduced sentence that would leave her eligible as a candidate, or a conviction in line with the prosecutor general's recommendations that would end her presidential hopes. A major polling frontrunner, Marine Le Pen herself designated this date as the one that "would seal her presidential destiny." Before her supporters, she characterized the forthcoming decision as a moment "important" because it "could undermine the democratic functioning of our country," while urging no letup in effort despite favorable polling, in view of a potential second-round showdown against a "coalition of the incompetent." Beyond the National Rally, the political establishment is also watching the deadline: the LR deputy Julien Dive contends, cited by HuffPost, that July 7 "is part of the question" without being a "fateful" date, while the France Unbowed deputy Clemence Guette downplays the impact on the ideological balance of power. Multiple National Rally figures, like Jordan Bardella, have been behaving for weeks like candidates on the campaign trail, anticipating a succession scenario.