Antifascists in France have just had some good news. At the end of a two-month trial, far‑right leader Marine Le Pen has been found guilty of embezzling millions of euros in public funds over an eleven‑year period. The judge concluded she was “at the centre […] of an organized system” aimed at funnelling public money into party funds. During the trial she did not try to contest the clear evidence of guilt, and now she has been sentenced to four years in prison, half of which is suspended (the remaining time is to be served under electronic tagging). 23 other members of her party were also convicted. The verdict also bars her from running for public office for five years, but does not oblige her to resign her present position as an MP. The sentence may well make her unable to stand for the presidency in 2027. In response, she and her party have launched a campaign against the “tyranny” of the “red judges”. The trial judge, Bénédicte de Perthuis, is now under police protection.
Since Le Pen has appealed, the prison sentence does not apply immediately, but the judge decided that the ban on standing for election should. It seemed there would not be enough time for an appeal before the presidential election campaign starts up, but after signs of annoyance by right-wing Prime Minister François Bayrou, and hard-right interior minister Bruno Retailleau, the Paris appeals court has promised to rush the process, so that the ban will be confirmed (the most likely outcome) or overturned by mid-2026.
Hypocrisy
The fascist Rassemblement National (RN/National Rally) has always pretended that the “fight against corruption” was one of their highest priorities, and claimed that only they could “hold their heads high, with clean hands”. A few years ago, Marine Le Pen had even demanded that any elected official found guilty of corruption should be given a lifetime ban from standing for elections. However, this verdict has shown her to be just as corrupt as the traditional right in France. Everyone in France remembers François Fillon, presidential candidate of the traditional right in 2017, who was sentenced to four years in prison. The present right-wing Prime Minister François Bayrou, too, narrowly avoided conviction last year when his close colleagues were sentenced for embezzlement. This week’s verdict, showing the deep hypocrisy of the RN, will have demoralized some of their supporters, and could make the job of antifascists a little easier.
But, though any blow against Le Pen is worth celebrating, the usefulness of this verdict has been exaggerated by many. Fascism is a response to profound political crisis and is not stopped by establishment courts. It is well worth remembering that Adolf Hitler was found guilty of treason and imprisoned in 1923. Ten years later, he got 17 million votes in national elections. In addition, Jordan Bardella, probable replacement candidate for the RN, has some electoral advantages over Le Pen: he is a man, and not being from the Le Pen family, would have more flexibility in fine-tuning his electoral image to build mass support.
Macron and the fascists
Macron and his ministers have made clear for years that their main priority is avoiding a radical left government, and that they are less worried about fascists. Indeed, they have helped the fascists build, and rely on their neutrality in parliamentary votes. Only two months ago, Prime Minister François Bayrou claimed that in France, there was a danger of people feeling “drowned by immigration”. The Macronists have been falling over themselves to claim that France’s real problems are immigrants and Muslims. A new bill to ban women wearing the hijab from playing competitive sports is in preparation, while French immigration law gets harsher by the year. When Macron’s own ministers can claim that French universities are filled with powerful “islamogauchistes” (Islamo-leftists), this can only aid the RN, with their fantasies about “red judges”.
The left response
On the French left, there is some debate about whether the immediate imposition of an election ban by the courts, before an appeal can be heard, sets a dangerous precedent or not. This is the opinion of the leadership of La France Insoumise (LFI), no doubt influenced by the many instances of courts being used, such as against Brazil’s Lula, and other left-wing leaders in South America. But the radical and revolutionary groups in France are in agreement that the solution to fascism cannot be provided by judges. Already, on March 22, France saw the largest antiracist mobilization in France in a number of years, with demonstrations in dozens of towns organized by a broad alliance of left and union movements. And last summer, it was a historically huge left canvassing campaign which pushed the RN into third place in the Parliamentary elections, when 27 different polls had said that they would come first. This dynamic needs to go much further.
If 61% of the French population find the verdict against the fascists “justified” (34% disagree), there is still plenty to be concerned about. This week, 300,000 have signed a petition supporting Le Pen, and current affairs programmes on mainstream TV are full of her MPs explaining how dignified she has acted, faced with these beastly judges. The RN were unprepared for the verdict against Le Pen, and are in scramble mode with trying to form a proper response. For several years, they have avoided organizing street demonstrations and have concentrated on elections and the media (partly to avoid the risk of the open Nazis in the party becoming too visible). Yet, on Sunday (April 6), an RN rally is to take place in central Paris, and another in Marseille. This is a change from the recent RN strategy of building up establishment support by, for example, propping up the illegitimate right wing government of François Bayrou, and by sending representatives to Israel for a conference on “countering antisemitism”. Nevertheless, RN leaders have been emphasizing, before the rally, the need to be “moderate” in their slogans and to not be seen demonstrating against judges, but rather in support of Le Pen and in favour of “defending democracy”.
Opposition to the RN mobilization is crucial. LFI and the Greens, along with some trade unions and student unions, and ATTAC, have called a counter-rally elsewhere in the capital on Sunday. This is excellent but insufficient: RN leaflet actions planned all across the country this weekend need to be opposed. The urgent need for a broad and specifically antifascist mass campaign has rarely been this clear.
