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Le Pen invokes Martin Luther King ahead of far-right Paris rally
France's Marine Le Pen on Sunday invoked Martin Luther King's struggle for civil rights as her far-right party planned to rally its supporters after she was convicted of embezzlement and banned from public office.
The bombshell judgement that could crush Le Pen's dream of winning the French presidency in 2027 has stunned the country's political establishment.
Some leftwing forces and the centrist camp staged counter gatherings on Sunday against the far right, while the judges who convicted Le Pen have received threats.
On Sunday, ahead of the rally, Le Pen urged her supporters to take inspiration from one of America's pre-eminent advocates of nonviolence in the fight for equal rights for black Americans.
"We will follow the example of Martin Luther King, who defended civil rights," she told members of Italy's hard-right League party, who were meeting in Florence, via video-link.
"Thank you, Marine, we don't want to take up any more of your time," said Italian deputy prime minister, League leader Matteo Salvini.
"Today will be an important day for you, for France," he added.
At a meeting of President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party in the northern working-class Paris suburb of Seine-Denis, former prime minister Gabriel Attal accused the far right of "attacking our judges, attacking our institutions"
"We, here, will never disqualify a court decision," said 36-year-old Attal, speaking in the presence of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou and fellow former premier Edouard Philippe, who also hopes to run in the 2027 presidential elections.
Bayrou, in a newspaper interview released on Saturday, took aim at the upcoming far-right rally, saying that it was "neither healthy nor desirable" to stage a demonstration against the court ruling.
- 'Violent party' -
On Monday, Le Pen, 56, was found guilty of embezzling European Parliament funds and given a partly suspended jail term and an immediate ban on holding public office.
Her supporters branded the ruling politically motivated, but Macron insisted the French judiciary is "independent".
US President Donald Trump called the sentence a "witch hunt" by "European leftists using lawfare to silence free speech, and censor their political opponent".
Some left-wingers including members of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party staged a counter rally in Place de la Republique which attracted several hundred people.
LFI coordinator Manuel Bompard said the far right had shown its true colours after years of efforts to become mainstream.
"The far right is a dangerous party, dangerous for democracy and dangerous for the rule of law," he told reporters. "It is a violent party that even threatens judges when decisions taken by the courts do not suit them."
The far right is on the rise in France. Polls indicate Le Pen, 56, would easily top the first round of the two-round presidential vote if she ran.
- 'In support of democracy' -
Jordan Bardella, the 29-year-old head of Le Pen's National Rally (RN), has said the ruling would only boost support for the party.
He has called the far-right rally at the Place Vauban in Paris's affluent 7th district "a mobilisation not against, but in support of French democracy".
According to police sources, 8,000 people are expected to attend.
Le Pen has worked to turn the party into an electable force and rid it of the legacy of her father, its co-founder Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died in January and was frequently accused of racism.
The latest survey by pollster Elabe for broadcaster BFMTV, released on Saturday, showed her with up to 36 percent of the vote.
Even some of her fiercest opponents say the far-right leader should be allowed to stand in the 2027 vote. She has lodged an appeal.
But now Le Pen risks seeing years of progress undone, observers say.
Analysts say Le Pen is forced to play the victim card to retain the support of her voters.
The RN is the largest single party in parliament and could complicate life for Bayrou, who does not have a majority in the lower house.
The Paris Court of Appeal said it would examine Le Pen's case within a timeframe that could potentially allow her to contest the polls if her conviction is overturned or her sentence changed.
pol-bpa-gbh-gab-as/sbk
O. Petrow--BTZ
