PARIS, April 2. /TASS/. Marine Le Pen, head of the parliamentary faction of France’s National Rally party, says that if she doesn’t win the 2027 presidential election, she likely won't run for the top office again.
"In politics, you never say never. But yes, I think that it will be my last [election], assuming I am not elected [president]," Le Pen told the Le Parisien newspaper in an interview.
The politician stressed that despite a court ruling that she could not seek election, she was not going to let that stop her from running, and had no plans to choose a replacement. "At this point, it’s not about thinking of a Plan B, but going ahead with Plan A," Le Pen noted.
According to the leader of the National Rally faction, voters cast their ballot for a candidate based on their character, not just their party affiliation. She highlighted her "special connection" with the French people, which has kept her in the presidential crosshairs for 25 years.
On Monday, a Paris court handed Le Pen a four-year prison sentence, two years to be served as a suspended sentence and the other two under house arrest with an electronic monitoring device. Another stipulation of the verdict is that she is not allowed to run in the French presidential election in 2027.