In the small French town of Montargis, Jean-Antoine, a retired decorator, was pleased Marine Le Pen had again shaken up French politics by launching a bid for the presidency, despite her legal woes.
“Even the judges said she didn’t personally profit from the money, it was for her party,” he said of Le Pen’s newly upheld conviction for embezzlement. “All politicians in France have always been schemers, it’s just a fact of life.”
Jean-Antoine, 76, who once painted luxury fashion stores, felt voters for the figurehead of France’s far-right, anti-immigration party National Rally (RN) wouldn’t care about this week’s appeal court decision over Le Pen’s misuse of European parliament funds.
Jean-Antoine’s late father fled to France from Spain during its civil war in the 1930s and became part of the French resistance standing up to occupation by Hitler’s Germany. “But now immigration has to stop,” he said.
Le Pen’s conviction last year had meant she was barred from running for office until the 2030s, but that restriction was shortened by appeal judges this week. This allowed her to declare a phoenix-like return to the presidential race, which will be voted on next year. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Montargis | Saturday, July 11, 2026
