Marine Le Pen held a rally in Paris shortly after being convicted of embezzlement involving her party’s aides, receiving a four-year prison sentence with two years mandatory and a five-year ineligibility. She criticized the ruling as politically motivated and plans to appeal, asserting that judges often make mistakes. However, statistics from the Ministry of Justice show that only 5% of appeal court decisions lead to acquittals, undermining her claims about judicial errors.
Marine Le Pen’s Defiant Rally Following Conviction
On Sunday, April 6, Marine Le Pen rallied her supporters in Paris just six days after being convicted for embezzlement of public funds linked to the FN (now known as the National Rally) parliamentary aides. The court sentenced her to four years in prison, with two years of that sentence being mandatory, and declared her ineligible for five years. In response to the ruling, the former party leader denounced what she called “a political decision” and accused the judiciary of harassment.
Le Pen’s Aspirations and Judicial Statistics
Despite her recent conviction, Marine Le Pen remains focused on her political ambitions for 2027 and is determined to appeal her case in hopes of an acquittal. At Place Vauban, she expressed, “Judges can make mistakes. Half of first-instance decisions are overturned on appeal,” while addressing RN officials and a supportive crowd of several thousand. However, this claim has been scrutinized, as data from the Ministry of Justice reveals that the rate of overturned judgments on appeal varies significantly by jurisdiction and does not align with Le Pen’s assertion.
The Ministry’s report for 2023 indicates that of the appeal court decisions, only 5% resulted in acquittals, matching the acquittal rate from first-instance rulings. This statistic does not lend support to Le Pen’s position, as appeal courts predominantly uphold guilty verdicts. In civil matters, the rate of judgments revoked on appeal differs by specialty; for instance, labor courts see a 15% revocation rate, while family courts confirm nearly 90% of their decisions on appeal. Overall, the Ministry’s clear data indicates that half of first-instance decisions are not overturned, contradicting Le Pen’s claims about judicial outcomes.